Yes, I Did!

Interesting start to my week:  Emergency trip to the vet for my dog Colt?  Check.  Admission to the hospital for my 25-year-old nephew?  Check.  Meeting with President Obama? Check.

The eagle has landed — and Presidentially so. That is, my book, Better Make it Real, is in the hands of the Chief Commanding Officer.  Really.   I gave a copy of my book to President Obama when I met him on Monday.

When I gave it to him, he glanced at the title and said, “I always try to be authentic.”  I replied with something stupid like “ I thought you might like something to read on Air Force One.”  

So my first interaction with a President went fairly well – I didn’t step on his foot, and I think my eyes are open in the photo I got to take with him.  But his comment about authenticity got me to thinking:  Is “authentic” something you are (or aren’t), or is it something you try to be?

In terms of organizational authenticity, the idea of being real can really put a target on your back.  What happens when you mess up?  Everyone has bad days, and organizations are no exception. But it’s not perfection people are after, either from their organizations or their world leaders.  Most people these days want straight talk and consistency (not only in word, but in deed) and when mistakes happen, they want honesty.  They want the BPs of the world to own up to their messes and mistakes and to fix them as they promised.  One might argue that complete organizational transparency could be quite costly, or could even result in organizational suicide.  But how costly is fake?  And how long is its shelf-life?  Fake is much more expensive, and long-lasting, than real.  Ask Toyota.

Being authentic is a core value, a way of dealing with the world, that simply can’t be faked (at least not in the long run).  So in that respect, it’s something you are.  But at the same time, authenticity can never be fully realized.  Because once you say you’ve arrived, the real truth is, you haven’t even begun.  (Imagine Gandhi announcing that he had finally reached enlightenment.  Right…)   Authenticity is not a destination, but a journey that never really ends.  

Not for an organization, not for a business leader – not even for the President of the United States.  But that doesn’t mean we should ever stop trying.