Sunday, July 12, 2009

Transparency

“Is lack of privacy an “opportunity for entrepreneurs?” If we haven’t had privacy for years and we want to have an ethical business, is a high degree of transparency to our advantage?” as Shel Horowitz points out. I think the transparency of the Internet and social networking can provide needed accountability. As I began to read about the lack of privacy on Google and Facebook, I felt a little bare. Then I realized that I really had nothing to hide. If I say something I regret, then maybe I needed to know that I had it in me and do something about it before the thought snowballs. I like the idea of letting people know who I am and knowing whom I am doing business with. We can accept a certain amount of humanness as we grow as entrepreneurs in our businesses and careers.

Some of my identity such as my birthdate, social security number, personal phone number and address needs to be protected as much as possible, although I can find much of it in a Google search. I don’t know how it got out there. In fact, I signed up for Google Maps and Google found websites I didn’t remember I had. I signed up for various sites to find out how well they worked and then dropped them, but the imprint is still there. Sometimes I feel like everything I ever wrote it still out there. I can see how much my writing has improved, but it can be a little shocking to find things I wrote four or five years ago still hanging out on the web. I guess part of transparency is seeing the growth through the years.

I have made it my business to be an advocate for healthy business practices and healthy employees. With so many corporations and businesses cutting back on customer service while taking advantage of a needy workforce, I want to support ethical businesses. Sometimes paying the cheapest price now costs more later in loss of jobs, economic fluctuations, and social problems. I like reading that Shel Horowitz supports ethical business practices as I do. I also like the fact that as entrepreneurs we will be accountable to our readers.

This website is intended for informational purposes only. Comments are open to the public and not endorsed by the author. For career advise, coaching, or counseling, please seek out a professional who can meet your personal needs.

Nancy Miller, M.S., Career Management Consultant
Copyright Center for LifeWork Design © 2007
Reprint by permission only – www.centerforlifeworkdesign.org

3 comments:

  1. Nancy, thanks for including my perspective in your blog.

    For many years, I've been an advocate of transparency and ethics in business. And for far longer, I've been aware that privacy is an illusion, much as we'd like it to be otherwise. Still, I was relieved to pump my social security # into Google and have it come up empty.

    In my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First (www.principledprofit.com), I demonstrate a number of business advantages to transparency and ethics. And over and over again, I see companies succeeding with these values.

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  2. Very often, your cover letter will be the first thing that a recruiter looks at when he sits down to do that all-important first sift. It is your first opportunity to leave a lasting and favorable impression and as such it should work every bit as hard as your resume, if not more so, to convince him that you are the best match for the job. Remember, the employer is looking for a really outstanding candidate and if your cover letter is in any way sub-standard or does nothing to tempt him into reading your resume, then he will not waste any further time on your application.

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  3. Thanks for your comment, ICT. Visit my LifeWork blog, http://tinyurl.com/naydx2, for more career topics. You are welcome to share more about the importance of the often overlooked and unappreciated cover letter and thank you letter. Nancy (CoachNJ)

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