Integrity and honesty. Seems they're always in the news these days. If it's not the lobbyist-incited exposure of someone's political misbehaviors, it's authors "embellishing" on their autobiographies. Oh, and let's not forget the hardy crew of the HMS Embellishment: Marketing people.

Hmmm. That's us.

Surely each of us has at one time or another used a little white lie to avoid trouble, make a resume seem better than we think it is, or add some "interest" to a story told in praise of a personal exploit. Even the squeaky-cleanest of us has some such fib to reveal.

But let's examine integrity as though there were a trend here, a trend toward consistent truth-bending. Have we become hardened by the lies we're told nearly every day, writing off those that seem harmless enough and shrieking in astonishment at others? That answer is for sociologists and psychologists to debate.

What I want to know is this: Is it okay to alter the truth about a product or service? I'm not talking about putting your best foot forward here, showing your best side to the camera, or deciding not to expose minor product problems. I'm talking about exaggerating the purported benefits of our goods. Of fabricating testimonials. Of positioning our product as one thing when it is in reality something else.

I'll admit it. I have an opinion. It's NO.

Here's why.

The Customer Relationship: "Trust Me"

If what we want is a long-term relationship with our customers -- and no sane business person wants anything else -- then we must be worthy of the customer's choice to spend his or her money on our products and services. We must offer them something they perceive to be of unique value, and we must deliver on the promise implicit in that value. By consistently fulfilling our promises to our customers, we become trustworthy. It's the only way to gain customer trust.

So... If being trustworthy is our goal in business, and being trustworthy means promising something and consistently delivering on that promise, what happens if we make a promise about value that isn't all it's cracked up to be?

Don't Believe Everything You See...

... and half of what you hear.

Companies that have long-term, consistent success have three characteristics about the promises they make:

1. They promise something that's relevant to their customers.
2. They make sure they can deliver on that promise.
3. They communicate that promise in clear, unambiguous, consistent language at every point of customer contact.

I'll take that a step further: We should be teaching these things to our children and in the schools. We should demonstrate our commitment to integrity and the keeping of our promises in everything we do.

And before I step off the soapbox: In the end, we owe it to ourselves as much as our customers and clients to make trustworthiness our goal. It isn't just a good thing to do.

It's the right thing.

Michael Knowles works with entrepreneurs and growing businesses who are struggling to bring new products to market. He is co-author of The Entrepreneur's Concept Assessment Toolbook (available at http://www.booklocker.com/books/1988.html or Amazon.com) and a principal of communications consulting company One Straight Line. Sign up for The Arrow, their free biweekly newsletter, by sending email to subscribe@onestraightline.com.