What's the best policy?

"What's the best policy?" - Had somebody asked me this question, say some fifteen years back, I would have answered "Honesty" without blinking an eyelid. But that would be way back in the 90's when I was in school. However if I were asked this question today, what would my answer be - would it be the same? Off late, there had been a lot of discussions about appraisals and promotions going on everywhere - in office, in the news, and it got me thinking - Is 'Honesty' still the best policy?

I remember, we had a subject called 'Moral Studies' in our school syllabus. It's during one such 'Moral Studies' class that I first came across this quote on 'Honesty'. The classes were on moral values and every value was explained with the help of a story. That was a time when we hardly knew the importance of what we were being taught, but the stories were powerful enough to drive home the point. Little did we know back then, the world was about to teach us lessons that would contradict with the ones that we were learning.

After years of slogging it out in school and college, and mugging up text book after text book by authors whose names were even more difficult to memorize than the books they wrote, I managed to get an entry into the enticing Corporate world (for some more slogging!). No amount of theory had prepared me for the big bad world that is "Corporate". For the first time I realized that it took much more than good grades in school and college to succeed at workplace. 

From my brief stint in the corporate world, I have learnt some lessons. 

Lesson # 1: Not all colleagues are friends

Ever felt let down by a colleague of yours -  A colleague who steals the credit of an idea that was originally yours and who does not acknowledge it, or someone who asks for a help and does not even say "Thanks" after you have helped them, or gossip-mongers (who are the most vicious of the lot) or that experienced colleague who does not help a new recruit. Not all colleagues are your well-wishers. 

Lesson # 2: Learn how to butter up your boss 

In corporate, most often it is not the deserving person who gets appreciated, but the one who knows how to butter up their bosses (sad, but true). Now this is one art that one needs to master - "How to praise your boss", else there is a very high chance that you might sink into oblivion. 

Lesson # 3: It's all about making the headlines

It is not enough that you do the task that has been assigned to you in the best possible way that you can, you need to shout it out loud from the rooftops and tell the whole world about it! I mean, whatever happened to those good old days when doing your job perfectly was all that mattered! 

Lesson # 4: Never hesitate to say "No"

If you are among those who have difficulty in saying "No" to someone who asks you for a help, then you had it. I have realized over time that unless you learn to say "No", you are never going to enjoy your break or your holiday, you will have powerpoints and excels keeping you company even on holidays.  

Lesson # 5: Honesty 'was' the best policy

And then there are people who make you feel that Honesty has lost its sheen - Employees who sneak out of office early on days when their boss is on leave, employees who do their personal work during office hours, employees who submit false claims (claims that could even put the fake cheques of Frank. W. Abagnale of 'Catch Me If You Can' to shame!), employees for whom work is a mere eyewash for grabbing attention, and then those who put the blame on others to cover up for their bad performance.

Life in corporate has taught me these lessons, but I like to believe that the lessons I learnt in my old 'Moral Studies' classes are still the best. Though some incidents have shaken the foundation laid by those lessons, it has not been able to break it. 

In my corporate stint, I have come across some gem of a personalities too - people who would not give up on their ideals at any cost. "So what" they ask. So what if one does not know how to say "No", So what if one does not know how to flatter their bosses, So what if one does not believe in being dishonest - may be you won't get the promotion that you could have got otherwise, may be you won't be recognized for your work, may be you won't be in the good books of the people who are at the top, but you will have some thing that others who sacrifice honesty for short-term gains will never have - 'peace of mind' and a satisfaction that comes from doing things the right way. 

I have seen dishonest people go places in a short span of time, and I have also seen honest people wait for years to get their due credit despite giving their work their everything. So, if someone asked me today, if I believed that 'Honesty' is the best policy, I would say "Yes", but it will definitely not be an as emphatic "Yes", as it would have been, had I been asked the question some fifteen years back.