gmoneypenny... you are entitled to your opinio

gmoneypenny... you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.

Lies have their roots in intent. You have no way of knowing what Steve's intent was when he made those statements. You may THINK you know, you may have an OPINION on his statements... but in reality, you don't actually know what intent Steve had when he made the statements. Only Steve knows what his intent was (unless of course he told someone what his intent was… YOU maybe?)

The mere lack of a stated outcome (or an unfavorable outcome) from a statement does not prove the statement a lie. Example… if I tell you I will meet you at the mall at 5:00p, and I show up at 5:30p… did I “lie” about meeting you at 5:00p? It depends on the circumstances, right? If I knew that I was meeting someone else at the very same time I told you I would meet you, then yes, it could be considered a lie, because my intent was to deceive you because I knew I was meeting someone else and could not met you at the very same time. However, if there was an unexpected traffic accident preventing me from being on time, in spite of my sincere attempts to do so… I think all would agree, my statement was not a lie. Granted, not accurate.. but not a lie because there was no attempt to mislead or defraud.

You attempt to paint a picture that Steve lies about almost everything, i.e. your statement of… “Sorry I sound so down on Steve. But that's truly how I feel about people who can't tell the truth.” You make matter-of-fact statements like that about the broad range of Steve’s statements (called generalizing), and you simply have no basis in fact to do so. Again, you are entitled to your opinion, but your statements are made in a manner which indicates you are trying to convince others of the same notion. You are drawing a conclusion based on the lack of stated outcome… as you interpret the outcome.

You also cite Steve’s actions as “pumping”. Well… he is CEO of the company… that’s his job ! Who wants a CEO that is not out there promoting his business? You stated he makes “bizarre predictions”… who determines what is “bizarre” ? What’s bizarre to you, who is skeptical of ALL his actions, may not be bizarre to others. Here again, you are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. “Bizarre” is commonly defined as “strikingly out of the ordinary” and/or “involving sensational contrasts or incongruities”. Steve’s previous statements about his thoughts, intentions, and or plans for the company and its direction are nothing out of the ordinary for any business, and would never be thought of as bizarre by anyone who understands what it takes to operate a business. Businesses make plans that never become reality due to any number of reasons. However, we fall back to intent here also… was it Steve’s intent to mislead… in addition to there being no evidence of such… only Steve knows what his intent was.

Business promotions come in a lot of different forms. EVERY business (and/or CEO) promotes their business. Many have announced plans that have either not become reality, or the end result looks completely different from the initial promotion. Example…. does the meal in the picture ever look like the meal that is served… or does the car you buy ever really get the MPG they state in the ad?

Having said the above… am I happy with EVERYTHING Steve has said and done, of course not, but I understand the difference between dishonesty, and adapted or failed plans.