[kmuzykov]

Everybody lies.

Someone does it better though. If you're a CEO or just some person who manages resources and is responsible for project completion - you will lie!

It's just better that way. Your employee doesn't need to know all the details, so he/she could concentrate on his work and client/employer doesn't need to know all the details so he didn't do any stupid things. Anyway you're responsible for a result, if it includes lying all the way ,then so be it.

[sstone]

I agree, everybody lies, it is human. Should it be expected?

Lying is far from the optimal way. When a company structure starts to mimic a hierarchical army structure then lying becomes one of the tools to maintain it.

If instead of having to lie you manage to create complete openness with people you work with and everyone has an interest in the projects success, lying is no longer a useful tool. Being honest with what you want out of something, what you expect from others and understanding what others need from you is a more optimal way to achieve your goals and keep a balance in your life. This requires complete openness, knowing everything about the business, about salaries, deals, expenses, expectations, capabilities. This means treating people like adults who can be informed of anything if they want to. No room for "on a need to know basis". This is hard.

When you feel the need to go to the park on a sunny day instead of compiling that much needed TPS report it is better to go to the park than pretend and lie you are doing the work. Everyone is better off acknowledging we are human and not mechanical beings.

[kmuzykov]

>>This means treating people like adults who can be informed of anything if they want to.

This is where everything breaks. Most people are not willing to behave like adults, they lie about their illness, when they simply partied yesterday, every end-developer unwittingly lies about time to complete a task and you have to correct him and so on.

In and ideal world (or in some perfect company) maybe everything works as you described (e.g. complete openness and etc.), but in a real world everybody lies.

[jcl]

The most interesting thing about the article is that people randomly assigned to positions of power lied better than their underlings. It's not simply a matter of better liars rising to better positions -- being in power changes you physically. ("Power corrupts"?)

[pasbesoin]

I haven't read the article yet (disclaimer), but would this speak to the influence of asymmetry of information (who knows what), that has been mentioned in the media more and more in the last few years?