by David Philpott

Institute of Directors

OK, OK, I confess. I am as guilty as the rest of them.

I have run ideas up the flagpole, flown kites to find which way the wind is blowing, thought outside the box, pushed the envelope and cajoled my audience to do some blue sky thinking.

Every generation has its own mumbo jumbo, intended no doubt to validate he who speaks to those who wish to be empowered.

Words matter. They matter a lot. This I have learned to my cost. I am not sure there is ever a right form of words to adequately cope with that question which every married man dreads, but is inevitably asked before an evening out. It concerns his beloved's appearance. Should he tell the truth, fib a bit, or lie? Most choose the safe middle ground. "No darling, of course you don't look fat in that - it really suits you."

During the general election campaigning our minds have been required to filter the truth from the half truth, or as former Cabinet Secretary Sir Robert Armstrong once famously put it - the economies of truth - spoken to us with such sincerity by incumbent and would-be politicians.

Can we ever forget a former Prime Minister's unconvincing assurances that "I cannot at this time envisage any circumstances in which it will be necessary to increase the rate of Value Added Tax?" Yeah right.

Politicians play with words. They can mess with your mind. They deflect difficult questions asked of them and they often obfuscate in their answers.

However you look at it though, all these semantic devices - half truths, economies with the truth, exaggerated promises, obfuscation - are nothing less than euphemisms for lying. It does us no harm at all to consider the wisdom of he who said "Let your yes be yes and your no be no".

How refreshing then to know that in the world of business - where jiggery-pokery in some quarters is par for the course - integrity, honesty and straight talking, is proved time and again to be the best policy.

Of course, we at the Institute of Directors never run things up the metaphorical flagpole, nor do we fly imaginary kites.

What we do very well though, is listen to what our members are telling us - 1,700 in Kent and more than 45,000 nationwide.

Then, as a non political organisation, we make sure that those views and concerns are expressed honestly, succinctly and consistently in straight-talking communiqués and press releases. Indeed, as it is with the unidentified and unsung heroes of enterprise that I have mentioned above, I like to think that we say what we mean and mean what we say. In these turbulent times, that's real blue sky thinking.