How to Say What You Think 
Without Getting Fired or 
Losing Your Friends.

Multimedia home-study, executive coaching course by Dr. Laurie Weiss shows you how to speak your mind and tell your truth despite the workplace pressures to conform and avoid making waves—and to encourage others to do so too.

It’s hard to know who to trust,
 isn’t it?

Irene, a rapidly rising young executive, told me how she nearly choked during her first private meeting with her new boss.

She had requested the meeting because she did not want to embarrass him publicly by challenging his assessment of her department’s value to the organization.

Then he demanded that she adopt a strategy that Irene knew would not only create a devastatingly heavy work-load for herself and her department but would actually keep them from serving their clients.

Irene thought about protesting again. She knew the facts and figures that would prove that his strategy wouldn’t work. She knew that if she didn’t stand up to him, he would continue to bully her, and yet she said nothing.

Inwardly seething, she swallowed her protests, gathered up her papers, left the meeting—and called me!

Irene didn’t want to risk confronting her boss, so rather than risk doing what she knew was right, she backed off. You can probably imagine why.

And you probably wish you knew--

Why is it so hard to speak up —
even when you know you are right?

You’ve probably been in a situation where you have kept your mouth shut when you really wanted speak up. 

Why did you keep silent? 

• Was it because you did not know how to make your point without embarrassing yourself or someone else? 

• Or was it because you did not trust the person you were talking to? 

• Were you avoiding some threat?

You’ve heard about a world where a man’s word was his bond, and a handshake closed a deal, and honor was foremost. That world may have existed once upon a time, but Irene, you and I, certainly don’t live in it now.

Why? Because too many people have trouble maintaining their integrity under pressure. And if you live in the 21^st century you do live under pressure.

How is your integrity being challenged?

I asked 1000 people, “What is your biggest challenge to maintaining your integrity in the workplace?” Overwhelmingly, the response was that they felt – pressure to compromise their integrity because they were afraid! Afraid!

Are you afraid too? 

• Are you afraid of losing your job or your customers if you don’t cave? 

• Suppose you don’t meet their expectations? 

• Will they fire you? 

• Are you afraid of not being able to provide for yourself or your family? 

• If you say what you know in your heart to be true, will something awful happen?

Do you even know what is deeply true for you, or is it so buried by years of trying to please others that you have lost touch with yourself? 

Have you buried your pain in the joys of modern life, watching hours of TV instead of thinking, anesthetizing yourself with a drink or two or more, or being so busy you just can’t stop? 

Do you crave a chance to just slow down and get to know yourself?

It doesn’t have to be this way.

A while ago I was privileged to be sitting in a beautiful restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico, with some of my dearest professional friends. We were marveling at the beauty of our surroundings and the good fortune that keeps bringing us together every few years in far flung places. 

The conversation was about the question, “Did you ever dream that it could be this good?” 

Every one of us is doing work we love. We are internationally known teachers and writers and coaches. We have all worked to make a significant positive impact in the world.

What made this possible?

Each of us has fought hard to learn the skills to maintain our integrity in the world and to teach other people to do so also.

What does that have to do with you? I know you are trying to do the best you can to maintain your own integrity. And I know it can be a real challenge. It wasn’t easy for us either. But we had an advantage—an advantage that I want to share with you.

We were all just starting out and came across powerful sets of tools that were very effective. We made a commitment to use them and made a commitment to keep examining ourselves and use ourselves as our best instruments.

We kept on sharing and kept on learning and kept on growing and have been doing so for over 30 years and the results, our fantastic lives, are absolutely astounding to us.

It never ceases to surprise me. But what I have found in my own life is 

• when I have taken the risks, 

• when I have really considered the other person’s needs as well as my own, 

• when I have thought about long term situation, and 

• I really have told the truth,

miraculous things happen.

I do it well because I have been practicing for a long time. I want you to use these tools. I want you to have the opportunity to practice, to keep learning and to create miracles in your own work and your own life.

So what does integrity 
have to do with all this?

What is integrity anyway?

Integrity is about wholeness

Integrity is about values—it is about thoughtfully choosing your values and holding on to them despite the pressure you feel to compromise them.

Integrity is about using your values to guide your actions.

Integrity is about being willing to reexamine your values in the face of new information and to make a conscious decision about whether change is warranted.

Integrity is about respect. It is about self-respect and respecting others.

Integrity is about understanding differences.

Integrity is about believing in the basic, sound, underlying pattern of goodness, of wholeness in the world and in other people.

Integrity is about seeking that wholeness. It is about conversations that get through the surface junk and get to what is really important when we are together.

It is about facing each other and listening to each other and really hearing each other and taking the actions we know are necessary.

Integrity is the bedrock on which trust is built.

As you can see, Integrity it the hidden key to your success.

You know that’s really what you want! But so much gets in the way…

I can help you get what you really want.

You are under so much pressure

—pressure just to survive the rat race

—to make a living

—to find relationships that make you feel wanted and needed and cared about

—pressures to get everyone else’s approval so they will sign off on what you want to do—what you judge needs to be done

—pressures to work until the impossible job gets done, no matter how long it takes

—and counter pressures to be with your family, to go to your kids soccer games, to spend quality time with your wife or your husband or your girlfriend or your parents

—the list is unending…

You just keep thinking, if only you could make the other guy understand—if only you could make them keep their agreements with you—if only you weren’t forced to compromise—if only things didn’t change so fast, then, just maybe, things would get better and you could relax a little!

And nobody gave you the tools you need to steer a course through all those pressures to compromise yourself and your ideals.

These little-known tools 
make the difference.

Those tools do exist. My friends and I have spent our lifetimes digging them out and learning how to use them—and helping others learn to use them too.

I can’t begin to tell you how magnificently rewarding that journey has been. I have been so privileged to hear my clients share their deepest fears and their incredible strengths as we worked together to find solutions to their dilemmas.

They learned to use the tools to create, yes to create, the relationships they needed to get the job done!

Relationships don’t just happen, in business or in personal life. They need to be tended, just as plants need water and sunlight to grow, so do relationships. 

And it is only through relationships with others that you can get what you want and what you need.

Others have learned. 
You can learn from their success.

Several years ago I gathered some of their stories together, combined them with stories some of my friends shared about helping their own clients. 

I wrote about the tools each client used to survive, to thrive and sometimes ultimately to triumph.

The resulting book, What is the Emperor Wearing? Truth-Telling in Business Relationships, got wonderful reviews, and was even translated into Mandarin Chinese and into German—where the title they gave it translates to “Success Despite Honesty.”

I have just signed a contract for the Russian translation, and publishers in Turkey, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, and Barcelona have recently expressed interest in doing their own translations.

The book is what is called “evergreen.” That means that the content is useful indefinitely. The world is even more pressured now than when I originally wrote the book, and the need for this information is even greater now than it was in 1996 when I started to write it.  

Just think about the corporate scandals that have come to light since then…Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Anderson, even Martha Stewart…the problems are growing, not going away. And that doesn’t even begin to address the problems we have in trusting the words of politicians we elect.

Why should you listen to me?

I know that people are basically good! I also know about the incredible pressures we all experience, just trying to live in the world. I want to keep helping.

Yes, keep helping. I have been at this for almost 35 years—helping people one on one or in small groups and business organizations.

I have almost 35 years of experience as a relationship coach, management consultant, therapist and counselor to people at all levels of success, as well as being a best selling author.

I have taught about my work in at least nine countries outside the United States, and in more states than I can remember. Various books and papers I have written have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese.

Some of my most memorable moments have come when strangers have contacted me and told me that using what I have written (usually a book) has changed their lives. Yes, I know that they changed their own lives, but that is what they tell me.

But don’t rush out to your local bookstore, trying to find the “Emperor” book. Only a few books were originally released, mostly to a very small, high level, executive audience.

Now I have found a way to make this critically important material accessible to a larger audience. 

This is the treasured information that super-successful executives and people in business have used to advance their careers.

The Integrity Course:
A multi-media ecourse shows you
    how to speak up—when it counts.      

If you’re like me, you really don’t have time to read all the books you’d like to. But you still want the information in them, right?

A multi-media ecourse, delivered in digestible, bite-sized chunks is the answer. The links you need for each lesson will arrive in a weekly email.

I needed lots of help to do this, but I finally have these hidden secrets of success organized into a form in which you can use them.

Yes, I have reformatted these stories of ordinary people in the workplace trying to maintain their integrity by steering a course between deception and damaging confrontation.  I have reformatted them into an accessible ecourse.

This ecourse contains the best of the information in What is the Emperor Wearing? Truth-Telling in Business Relationships plus my distinctions, observations and insights from seeing this info applied in all types of business relationships during the past 5 years.

This ecourse gives you practical suggestions that you can practice from week to week.

This ecourse lets you communicate with me and with your fellow students.

This multimedia ecourse contains both written and audio material.

This ecourse gives you 24 powerful stories of how real people have learned to maintain their integrity by being honest with themselves and each other despite the pressures of the workplace.. 

This ecourse gives you the tools you need to hang on to your own integrity and even help others to bring their integrity to the table when they are relating to you.

And best of all — all you need to do to access this powerful material, is to simply click a link that appears in your email box each week.

I'm ready to enroll right now.

How you’ll learn to speak your mind

You need to learn how to:

• Recognize and avoid the looming disaster that is actually caused by being a team player? (You’ll find this in lesson 5.)
  
  

• Gain the support and cooperation of annoying people by making them your allies. (Lesson 16) 
  
  

• Regain your equilibrium when you know you know you’re in danger because of your own irrational reactions. (Find this in lesson 18.) 
  
  

• Help others save face and ease the pain of a necessary confrontation with just four simple sentences. (This is in lesson 16.)
  
  

• Unleash the power that comes from understanding your own hidden agenda. (See lesson 4.)
  
  

• Invite thoughtful and truthful answers to your questions by following these steps.  (See lesson 16.)

You also need to learn how to:

• Capture the attention of someone who doesn’t want to listen to you. (See lesson 1.)
  
  

• Protect yourself from disaster by avoid the traps of discounting and denial—even when it’s hard. (This important information is in lesson 2.)
  
  

• Stop the destructive games people play at work using by following just eight steps. (Find this in lesson 4.)
  
  

• Get important information when you need it—without looking like a troublemaker. (Lesson 16)
  
  

• Avoid being blindsided by hidden problems when you learn how to seek and accept valuable feedback. (See lesson 5.)
  
  

• Avoid frustration by following these five steps to help others maintain productive behavior. (See lesson 7.)

And you need to learn how to:

• Help others accept difficult information that they need but really don’t want to know about. (See the introduction, part 2.)
  
  

• Understand why people some people can’t help reacting in unusual ways—and what to do when you are the target. (This is in lesson 10.)
  
  

• Encourage integrity in others with three simple tools. (See lesson 10.)
  
  

• Accept help to avoid your own dangerous blind spots. (Find this in lesson 11.)
  
  

• Escape the codependency trap—even if you are already caught in it. (See lesson 12.)
  
  

• Use the most important tool of all for creating an atmosphere that encourages trust and truth telling. (Find this in lesson 14.)
  
  

• Hear the important but hidden information that almost always determines the real outcome of any conversation. The seven important steps you need are in lesson 14.
   

• Support everyone’s integrity by safely interrupting the defensive routines that keep people from discussing important but unpopular information. (See lesson 21.)
  
  

• Transform conflict into dialogue, using new operating agreements. (Find this in lesson 22.)

In addition, you will get:

• All 15 operating agreements that have created spectacular results by enhancing integrity in many organizations. (See lesson 22.)
  
  

• Three additional sets of operating agreements other organizations have used to encourage integrity. (These agreements are in lesson 24.)
  
  

• Instructions for using a nine-step process to create your own operating agreements that will help maintain the integrity of your workplace. (This is in lesson 22.)

You’ll get all of these tools along with 24 stories of how real people learned to maintain their integrity by being honest with themselves and each other despite the pressures of the workplace.

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

Actually, there's even more more that you’ll learn, but I was worried about overwhelming you. If you want the full list of tools, CLICK HERE.

I know that this is a tremendous amount of material, and I don’t expect you to learn to use it in a week or even in a month! Remember, the 24 lessons and many bonus audio materials of The Integrity Course will be delivered to you weekly.

Focusing on one lesson each week will certainly help you to transform your life, but I expect that it will take you at least 6 months to do so! 

Even when you have finished all the lessons, you will want to keep them and refer back to them for years.

As you can see, integrity is the 
hidden key to your success! 
Do you qualify?

Quite frankly, The Integrity Course is not for everyone, and not everyone who wants it is qualified to receive it. The important question is, will you use these powerful tools if I allow you to have access to them? Will you speak up when you do know how?  Do you have the courage to practice living in integrity?

However, I’m extending this special invitation for you to apply if you meet the following criteria: (if you agree, please check the boxes below)

I am a person with goals, and I sincerely desire to advance my career, business, income and life.

This is the right time for me to take on a new challenge.

I value learning, growing, and taking action on what I learn.

I can be counted on to follow-through and apply what I learn to my unique situation.

I am willing to stop or change the self-defeating behaviors, which limit my success.

I like helping others, and I am open to intelligently and sensibly sharing my new knowledge with others, when possible.

I see operating with integrity as a worthwhile investment in my life.

I am someone who can take calculated risks, even when I feel scared to do so.

If I feel the Integrity Course is valuable to me, I am willing to refer others to participate in it.

I am a flexible person with a good sense of humor.

OK—so how did you do?

If you checked off at least 6 of the statements above, we can accept your application. Once you start using the lessons, I suggest that you you ask for help on any of the items you did not check.

If you checked off 5 or less of the statements above, this is probably not for you. I’m sorry, but I just don’t want to see you get involved in something that may not work for you.

If you checked off all 9, this is perfect for you!

I'm ready to enroll right now.

Testimonials

OK, now comes the part of the letter where I need to prove myself to you. Can I deliver on all of these promises? Well, I can’t give you testimonials about The Integrity Course, because this format is brand new..

But I can show you what lots of people said about What is the Emperor Wearing? Truth-Telling in Business Relationships. Remember, most of the material (the evergreen material) comes from the book.

Here is what my early reviewers said:

“This book will help you appreciate the value of your own truth-telling and share it with others. I urge you to read it and live by it.”
— Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The One Minute Manager

“Full of rich experience and wisdom. I heartily recommend it.”
— Freeman Dhority, Ph.D., senior partner, Leading Learning Communities.

"Laurie Weiss helps you break the taboo of not admitting the truth on the job by giving you the skills and strategies of truth-telling without damaging yourself or others. She offers important steps to create a supportive organizational culture and helps you experience both the relief and rewards that come with telling the truth."
— Dorothy Jongeward, coauthor, Born to Win

“Non-threatening, personal, and accessible. Laurie Weiss gives readers the opportunity to draw themselves out without feeling badly. The non-confrontational language makes it work."
— Lora Vahue, coach/consultant/writer

"Laurie Weiss gives us a refreshing and realistic statement of the power of truth-telling in business organizations. She makes a compelling case that is tempered by appropriate caution and sophistication — and she maintains a sense of humor and wit that is captivating. This book sets a standard for relationships in modern organizations, whether they be small business concerns, large corporations, or public sector bureaucracies."
— Robert W. Gage, Ph.D., professor of public affairs, University of Colorado

 "…a goldmine of ideas…the first few pages provide more than one’s money’s worth…captivating real-life incidents."
— Transactional Analysis Journal 

"…a must for every mediator’s bookshelf."
— Mediation News: Academy of Family Mediators  

"Thoroughly refreshing…you’ll want this one in the top drawer of your desk where you can refer to it at a moments notice."
— Women Issues 

"…easy reading, insightful…a quick reference in difficult situations…easily translated to settings other than business"
— Amazon.com 

"Excellent, thought- provoking reading with personal case studies to prove her point."
— Grateful Times   

Readers said:

I own two copies of What is the Emperor Wearing? Truth-Telling in Business Relationships--one to loan out to the people I support as an HR manager, and another to keep on hand as a reference I can turn to when I am faced with a challenging situation myself. I love how I can find just what I need by checking the table of contents. Your chapter titles, like “All I Did Was…Why Did She React That Way?” and “It’s Hard to Tell the Truth to Someone Who Won’t Listen” lead me to the exact information that matches the situation I must deal with.
— Mary Schaefer, Human Resources Manager, Fortune 100 Company

I read half of your book “What is the Emperor Wearing?” (and will also read the rest!). It is really helpful for me as I’m working in the field of Human Resources and Training in an airline company. I appreciated the many examples and the kind of “What you can do” at the end of each chapter. I will help me a lot in my working and my personal life. Thank you!
— Bettina Rath, Vienna, Austria

(See what other reviewers said along the right side of this page.) 

Access: The Hidden Benefit of The Integrity Course

Without these critical insights, over the course of your career, doors of advancement and opportunity will slam shut in front of you without you ever knowing why.

Without these insights you are simply one of the people who aren’t advanced or promoted and never know why—they have the degrees, the credentials but they simply don’t advance.

These critical insights transform you from just another employee to a trusted advisor to people who are in a position to promote you and advance your career. Your ideas will be valued. Your opinion will matter and in every situation and relationship you will make a difference.

With these critical skills, you demonstrate your integrity and the strategic doors of access to people, relationships and opportunities for promotion and advancement open to you.

Enroll Now

Enroll in this mastery course for people at all levels of success and get these complimentary bonus gifts as well

Claim these two special reports crammed with information that supplement The Integrity Course.

Emotional Intelligence In Action, A Special Report. 

Three separate articles focused on developing and maintaining your personal integrity, while seeking business success. 

Powerful tools for increasing your Emotional Intelligence to help you steer a steady course through a sometimes-turbulent business world. Learn to trust yourself to maintain balance and integrity in your relationships with yourself and others.

Conflict Intervention Essentials A Special Report For Executives, Managers and Human Resource Development Consultants.  

Executives and managers spend between 24 and 49 percent of their time dealing with conflict. Helping an organization manage conflict is one of the most challenging responsibilities any business professional can undertake, and one of the most valuable. This special report is loaded with the critical information you need to do that job.

Look at all you’re getting here... 

24 lessons

PART ONE: Why Not Just Tell the Truth?
It’s Harder Than It Sounds and Easier Than You Think It Is

Lesson 1: It’s Hard to Tell the Truth to Someone Who Won’t Listen…
But Risking Being a Nuisance Can Prevent Incredible Embarrassment 

Lesson 2: It’s Hard to Tell the Truth When You Would Rather Not Know What It Is
But When You Learn How, You Can Save Your Assets!

Lesson 3: It’s Hard to Tell the Truth When the Truth Is Bad News
But when you are being attacked and intimidated, looking at the big picture can help you take care of yourself

Lesson 4: When Truths Collide…
Power Comes From Taking Charge of The Games People Play 

Lesson 5: I Want to Be a Team Player, so I Won’t Make Waves…
Unless I Want to Prevent a Major Disaster!

Lesson 6: I Would Be Glad to Tell the Truth If Only I Knew What It Was
Finding Out What It Is Will Save You From Incredible Hassles

Lesson 7: Maybe the Emperor Really Is Wearing Clothes, and I Can’t See Them
You Can Get The Important Information You Need!

Lesson 8: Facing Ethical Dilemmas
Maintain Your Own Integrity When The Going Gets Rough

Lesson 9: Sometimes It Makes Sense Not to Tell the Truth
Decide When to Obey the Spirit of the Law Instead of the Letter of the Law

PART TWO: Tools for Becoming a Truth Teller
Win Friends and Influence People by Becoming a Truth Teller

Lesson 10: Examining Assumptions
Make Better Decisions by Recognizing Hidden Truths

Lesson 11: Know Yourself First
Claim Every Bit of Your Own Power to Make a Difference in Your Own Life.

Lesson 12: Do You Recognize the Signals You Send Yourself?
Use Your Most Important Source of Information for Guidance.

Lesson 13: Use Your Intuition to Guide You
Benefit from Using the Valuable Information From Your Gut Feelings, Hunches, Suspicions, Premonitions, Inklings, Educated Guesses and Insights.

Lesson 14: The Truth Will Set You Free, but First It May Make You Mad!
Help Others to Trust You and Your Work Becomes Far Easier

Lesson 15: Get the Information You Need Without Being Gullible or Paranoid
Make Great Decisions and Avoid Disappointments

Lesson 16: Ask Questions with Grace and Skill
Empower Your Team to Create Spectacular Results

Lesson 17: Tell Your Truth with Compassion for Yourself and Others
Balance Your Compassion with Your Integrity

Lesson 18: All I Did Was . . . Why Did She React That Way?
Dodge the Missiles that are Really Aimed at Someone Else

Lesson 19: Reality Isn’t What It Used To Be, and Perhaps It Never Was
Grow Your Power by Rapidly Adapting to Change

Lesson 20: The “What I Feel Like Saying” Process
Create Mutual Understanding About Common Concerns.

Lesson 21: Is Something Sinister Going On?
Be the Hero: End Confusion and Restore Focus

Lesson 22: Using Agreements to Create Dialogue Instead of Conflict
Use the Power Tool that Builds Relationships and Results

Lesson 23: A Success Story
Trying New Approaches Brings Unexpected Rewards 

Lesson 24: More Resources
If You Are Still Curious...

10 Additional E-Books, articles and resources:

You have my Personal Guarantee!

It’s time to enroll

Click here and start reaping the benefits of 
The Integrity Course