

Lie to Get Ahead - pmichaud
http://www.petermichaud.com/essays/the-various-uses-of-honesty/

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Chocobean
Your post suggests that honesty is not only not the best policy, but will lead
to personal failure, and should not be used. I agree with you that
messages/information need to be delivered tactfully and with thought. But I
disagree that the solution is to offer a lie.

Why isn't the obvious solution to offer honest, meaningful "message-level"
answers instead of blunt, uninformative answers?

With your example, the spouse can answer that 80's leggings make anyone look
terrible, that he loves her, and will plan to continue loving her, that he
finds her attractive in ways that were not present when they were both
younger. In business, you can answer "No our product doesn't do H, but it does
J." You can answer "No I can't be sure that the lights will stay lit in the
morning, but I believe that it will, because of X Y and Z." If your customer
walks, and your business fails, then so be it. Your business did not fail
because you spoke the truth, it failed because you couldn't keep the lights
lit. There are many ways to appeal to people without resorting to lying.

I would encourage you to "conquer fear and embrace possibility": being honest
is hard, it will cost you, but it is the only way for human beings to become
"authentic and complete".

