I Want The Truth!

Maybe Yes, Maybe No 

- Terri Morrison

When the 17th century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal wrote: Vérité en-deçà des Pyrénées, erreur au-delà. (“There are truths on this side of the Pyrénées which are falsehoods on the other” translation, Geerte Hofstede), he wasn’t just saying that the Pyrenees mountain range accounted for the differences between Spanish and French viewpoints. He meant that truth is subjective.

In the US, we generally adhere to an “absolutist” or “Manichean” system of ethics. Behaviors are divided into right and wrong, or good and evil, and many US citizens use the Ten Commandments when they make those judgments. The eighth, “Thou shalt not lie,” applies to our perception of the truth. Philosophically, we believe lying is wrong. Perhaps that is why it is so disturbing to US executives when international associates seem to feign interest in commitments, but don’t always follow through.

Avoid “No,” “Nyet,” and “Bu!” 

If you couldn’t figure it out, “Bu” is Mandarin for “No.” But whatever the language, in many cultures, bluntly saying “No” is anathema. The word itself is so widely recognized, that it has gotten English speakers who overuse it into trouble.