On a conversational level, we take "lying" to mean speaking an untruth, overtly saying something that is not the case. Webster's first definition is, "to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive." "To lie" is an active verb, with a connotation of intent.

But Webster's second definition is far broader: "to create a false or misleading impression." That definition includes lies of omission; it even extends beyond speech.

It's that second definition we'd like to explore. By that definition, business advisors (or for that matter, people) who don't lie are like unicorns: not inconceivable, but pretty infrequent. In the same sense, Diogenes never found an honest man.

Yet we say trust is critical to client-advisor relationships. How do we reconcile these two "truths"?

More Dishonesty in Business