Recently, a well-respected account executive for a cable company told me of her dismay at a recent tactic employed by her GM during a meeting with a potential client. While sitting in front of the client, the Cable GM discovered that the client used radio. When the client confirmed that he did, in fact, use radio, the Cable GM quipped, “well, no one listens to local radio anymore.”Let me interject for just a moment. This isn’t about the relevance of Radio, or TV, or Cable or Digital, or bathroom stall marketing. It’s about the relevance of the truth. So, I had to ponder the following:

• Is the GM ignorant?
• Was the GM lying?
• Does the GM suffer from a complete lack of self-awareness?

I am betting it is all the above, with an abundant heaping of arrogance tossed in. I am always amazed when people who consider themselves to be “smarter than others”, allow arrogance to undo them. How smart is that?Did the GM realize that he was calling the client “stupid?” Better yet, did the GM realize just how ignorant that comment made him seem?Three things to avoid in any business culture:

• Ignorance.
• Lying.
• Arrogance.

It’s better for all concerned for you to be a source of truth, ideas, and foster powerful, meaningful relationships. Never allow self imposed arrogance to guide your path. It makes you look ignorant.