When she was a little girl, she would visit her immigrant grandfather, a successful bootstrap businessman, who would win every argument with what he called, “the actual facts.”  She recounts, “After each visit, on the drive home, my sister and I would snicker about my grandfather’s Actual Facts – a ridiculous, redundant phrase. We knew that facts were facts. Period.”

She is “astounded” that today we are talking about “alternative facts,” “fake news,” and “post-truth.” She goes on to say, “it’s frightening” when elected leaders around the world distort the facts. She says, “Clearly, it’s the ideal time to publish this month’s cover, a scientific exploration of why we lie.”

All our lives, we have trusted National Geographic to tell us the truth about our world, our society, and our environment. We still do. There’s lots of pictures. Hence the name, geographic. It’s hard to argue with pictures. And the stories that accompany the pictures are written by scientists and certified experts who give us the stories behind the pictures in non-political terms – just the facts.

Yet we’ve gone so far in doubting the truth and choosing to believe in alternatives that we have allowed a level of confusion to undermine our ability to act. As long as politicians and interest groups can confuse us, they will be able to forward their own selfish, short-sighted agendas at the price of our future.

The June issue of National Geographic examines lying in detail. What we find most disturbing is the tendency so many folks have to choose to believe what they want, what works for them, and what does not require any action. This allows them to be pandered to by interest groups who now, thanks to the advent of digital era, can proliferate the kind of news these folks want to read. Now that we can choose our news sources, it’s easier for us to be manipulated.

From a business stand point it has become more important to cater to your followers with what they want to read than it is to educate them – especially if it is an uncomfortable education that requires action. This is why we love the National Geographic. It’s educational and the implications of its scientific reports are actionable. It’s one of the solid rocks of integrity remaining in our society. We wish we could give everyone a free subscription!

Meanwhile, their report says that when we lie, it is most often to coverup a mistake or misdeed. The number two reason is to gain financial advantage. With that said, politicians and interest groups are the ones that should be scrutinized, and not the scientists. The overwhelming majority of scientists clearly have no motive beyond professionalism, service, and the long-term betterment of mankind.

Integrity in business translates to dependability, delivering value, consistent messaging over time, and claims that are verifiable and supported by certified experts. Businesses that subscribe to these principles tend to withstand the test of time. Such is the case with National Geographic. They are documenting our world in a way that is hard to argue with. In these days of alternative facts, National Geographic has earned its reputation of an institution of great integrity and is a bastion of “Actual Facts.”

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Integrity Is the Basis for Trust appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

Some folks actually brag, “I don’t get my news from newspapers anymore. That’s so eighties!” We also hear, “I’m two to three days ahead of the news.” We recently had a house guest who considers himself a “digital native,” unlike us who are “digital transplants.” When he came in to breakfast, he glanced at the newspapers we were reading and asked, “How do you use those?”

We told him we use newspapers to discover stories we weren’t looking for that broaden our experience and education – hard to do in a digital feed with personal settings limited to only what you are interested in. We use newspapers to get news from sources that put their professional journalistic reputation on the line. And we use newspapers to vet out yesterday’s sensationally trending stories for accuracy.

Fake news has found a willing host in this post-truth world. It doesn’t have to be vetted, it just has to be trending. If it appeals to your world view or if it’s entertaining, shocking, or challenges the establishment, it doesn’t have to be accurate before it is shared. Facts are taking a back seat to being current. It’s more important to be part of the trending news than to be part of the accurate news. And by sharing it on social you can be part of “the latest!”  The more it gets shared, the more “credibility” it has. As Dan Rather says, “And the truth has no chance of catching up with it.”

Now we can chose the type of news we want to see and the way we want to see it. Have we opened ourselves up to false news that merely appears to be like the news we have chosen to read? Is our desire for entertainment and validation greater than our respect for the truth? The producers and disseminators of fake news think so.

Stanford University released a study last month that reported that students in grades 7-12 found it difficult determining the credibility of stories on social media. Over 80% could not distinguish between actual news and advertisements designed to look like actual news. This is our future! Being a digital native obviously comes with some potentially damaging vulnerabilities. It is fast, it is popular, and it is wrong. What makes this OK to pass onto others?

So how do you protect yourself and not add gas the flames of a false fire? Here’s a few mitigating questions to ask before you hit that “share” button:

1. Reputation. Is anyone’s reputation at stake as the source of the story? Who loses credibility if it’s wrong?
2. Source. Is this coming from an established and reputable news feed, or is this coming exclusively from social media?
3. Pandering. Am I being pandered to because I want to read a story like this and the source knows I will share it before it’s vetted? Am I being used?
4. Sensational. Is this story so sensational that it’s entertaining even if it’s not true? If so, does that make it OK to pass along?
5. Aging. How long has the story been out? Be skeptical about fast breaking “news.” It may be too early to be confirmed as correct.

Getting your news on line comes with some serious vulnerabilities and personal responsibilities. Those “old” newspapers that are no longer stylish have editors and journalists who could lose their reputations printing false stories. Now, you are the editor!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Fake News Is Easily Spread on Social Media appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.