So if we have learned one thing the past decade, it's that transparency is good. Right? I mean, Jack Welch has said it, Ram Charan has told us, and many successful 2.0 businesses have ridden the transparency wave to great acclaim. So what's with a couple of headline makers this week?
First, Apple and Steve Jobs: The company says everything's fine, while its CEO and inspirational guru is off in Tennessee getting a liver transplant. And that was on the heels of the company saying everything was fine while the CEO withered away and eventually announced a leave of absence. "Hormonal imbalance" – right!
Next, the Governor of South Carolina: Last Thursday, Governor Mark Sanford disappeared without a trace and all weekend his whereabouts were a public mystery. Monday, an aide finally reported that the Governor had taken a state security vehicle (without security officers) and was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Get this for transparency: his last known location was near Atlanta late last week. A mobile telephone tower there picked up a signal from his phone,