Honest, guv…

The culture of spin is so well-established that we tend not to believe figures of authority. That’s quite a challenge for financial services companies who need to regain their customers’ trust, says Ian Stewart.
Have you ever taken a psychometric test? You know the sort of thing: out of a hundred questions, numbers three, seventeen, nineteen, fifty-four and eighty-two all exhibit the compiler’s ingenuity in trying to catch you out.
You claimed in number three to be the most ruthless, results-at-all-costs go-getter ever to hit the organization, so you’re obviously the only choice for the top job. You also claimed in number twelve to have the people skills to get everyone singing your song, so you never need to deploy the formidable armoury indicated in number three anyway. All the way from twenty-one to a hundred is a game of cat-and-mouse devoted to trying to catch you out. Knowing that you might be quite a smart cookie, the compiler will have asked you to do all this honestly but quickly – it wouldn’t do for you to see through the charade. It’s all part of the industry devoted to the pretence that those who select people for senior positions know what they are doing.
Just for a change, ask yourself a question and try to answer it honestly – but take your time. Which of the articles in the last edition of Argent did you find most significant?
If you find that question a bit hard, try asking yourself which you found most useful.
If it has been a long and difficult day, try asking which you found the easiest to read.
Do you have answers to these questions? Is the answer the same in each case?
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