When Have You Lied at Work?

ANITA MODHA (left)
CEO, Rollout Custom Wallpaper
“I’m a bad liar. As a child, I’d cut to the chase and take the blame for my crimes. I do this at work too, although I will bend the truth when critiquing someone else’s work. The design industry is about fabrication and fantasy. We are selling dreams and, in some ways, dreams are beautiful lies. As creators we thrive on these kinds of deceits of the imagination: the lie that tells the truth.”

IAN ANDREW BELL (middle)
Founder, RosterBot.com and AppSocial  
“I once lied to a co-worker about sneaking Haribo Gold Bears from a jar on her desk, bear by bear, for weeks – until there were none left. Even when confronted, I was indignant in my denials, and our camaraderie was never the same. Two things I learned: integrity is the cornerstone of all business relationships, and Haribo Gold Bears are too delicious to keep at work.”

CARMEN RUIZ Y LAZA (right)
Director of corporate affairs, David T.K. Ho Enterprises
“Since my office is my cellphone, when I say to a client, ‘Call my office,’ the lie is the implication that I’m at my desk. I may actually be in Spain, at a cabin in Gibsons or on a boat in the Gulf Islands. I word it that way because I don’t want to come across as being uncommitted to the project. But my office is my brain, my phone and my computer.”