在某些公司，雇主和员工相互掩饰错误。这种做法不健康，而且有碍公司的进步，因为这会阻止人们揭露错误和缺陷，鼓励欺瞒，并剥夺下属申诉的权利。
这也适用于个人忠诚问题。我经常见到一些人因为与老板有私交，虽不胜任却能保住“饭碗”，这导致一些毫无道德的管理者拿个人忠诚做交换，为他们自己圈地盘。要知道，用不同标准评价个人，就是一种隐形的腐败，有悖任人唯贤的原则。
我相信的是构筑在公开探寻事实基础上的更健康的忠诚。
公开表达坚持原则的思考和完全透明是阻止私下交易的最佳药方。当每个人都秉承同样的原则，公开做出决策时，人就很难以所在机构为代价追求私利。在这种环境下，那些直面自己挑战的人最令人敬仰；相反，当错误和缺陷被掩盖时，不健康的行为就会得势得逞。
In some companies, employees hide their employer’s mistakes, and employers do the same in return. This is unhealthy and stands in the way of improvement because it prevents people from bringing their mistakes and weaknesses to the surface, encourages deception, and eliminates subordinates’ right of appeal.
The same thing applies to the idea of personal loyalty. I have regularly seen people kept in jobs that they don’t deserve because of their personal relationship to the boss, and this leads to unscrupulous man-agers trading on personal loyalties to build fiefdoms for themselves. Judging one person by a different set of rules than another is an insidious form of corruption that undermines the meritocracy.
I believe in a healthier form of loyalty founded on openly exploring what is true. Explicit, principled thinking and radical transparency are the best antidotes for self-dealing. When everyone is held to the same principles and decision making is done publicly, it is difficult for people to pursue their own interests at the expense of the organization’s. In such an environment, those who face their challenges have the most admirable character; when mistakes and weaknesses are hidden, unhealthy character is rewarded instead.
