Why we make our projects and enterprises transparent and why openness is a central value for us, not just as responsible leaders.
Or:
This is another one of my provocative articles!
I would like to have a society of openness. All meetings, results and protocols should be available for everyone.
Because there is no need for us to fear competition or imitation. We are good and we know it. Keeping things secret will not do any good, anyway. On the contrary: transparency is the chance to demonstrate the quality of our own work (and thus also be appreciated for it). And this is the only way for us to receive the valuable mirror-image and useful replies we need for our development.
I want total transparency!
I would wish for a society where it goes without saying that you talk about your work freely and openly. So we openly submit our ideas in blogs and/or other publications. And we share our entire knowledge in order to better discover the problems that might endanger and threaten us. And then we could also find necessary solutions for the future more quickly. It would generate creativity and true innovation.
This transparency should not stop with the “money bag”. What reason is there for keeping secret what you earn or own?
Whenever we make a mistake or do something stupid, we must be permitted to admit to it without having to justify our behaviour. And we have to be prepared to accept the same from others and not hold mistakes against them.
And when our behaviour is transparent and open, we will soon also learn verbal hygiene. And, as we all know, hygiene is healthy.
🙂 Well, now the only question is what was so provocative about this article?
Now back to reality:
I know quite well that most persons today will still call my wish for transparency totally unrealistic. After all, the world is not as we, perhaps, would wish it were. On the other hand, quite a few utopias that were still unthinkable not so long ago have become reality (monopoly of power for the state, no serfdom or slavery, the role of the women, enlightenment,…).
Social change is part of evolution. And, just as the word change suggests, a person’s socialization is subject to constant change, both for individuals and social collectives. Through the technological advance during the last century, this change seems to have drastically gained in speed (and continues to do so), currently having gained its high point with information and communication technologies (IKT), that is: through computer science and the internet.
Thus, my utopia might now already be closer to coming true than, for example, it would have been a hundred years ago. May I remind you that in 1912 we were heading towards WW-I. Since then, much has happened and even more has changed.
Consequently, it might well be that enterprises and organizations, even today, have a huge competitive advantage if they are transparent, both on the inside and outwardly. Even if, as you consider the past and employ some scepticism, you might think this impossible and totally absurd.
The same is true for humans. I assume that, as reality of life develops, humans who open their lives openly and transparently for others will be a lot more successful than the rest. And I also assume the same is true for all kinds of organizations.
Yet before openness and transparency, there always has to be trust. In other words: openness and transparency must happen voluntarily. First and foremost, they must concern your own life and your own organization, rather than that of the ”others“. This is not about making others transparent, but first and foremost about making yourself and your own behavior transparent.
The only exceptions to the rule should be when danger is imminent. But that is a totally different and not at all trivial problem. We are approaching ethics – and it always gets tricky when we get to that stage.
So here is my advice – be happy if you yourself are open, while others are still close-cut. When it comes down to competitiveness, you will be one up.…
RMD
(Translated by EG)
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