There’s a certain aspect of my job that entails the creative presentation of truth. Not lying, but crafting a true situation in a light that can save me or my client face. It’s one of the subtle things they don’t teach you about life or business but that everyone in business expects. I assume in some way that it’s Japanese culture light – respecting one another’s honor and giving sufficient chance to allow someone to save face.

Then there’s the flat out business of bull-$!^& and from where I sit I see that most sales managers are in the practise of creative ways of making, shaping and distributing that bull. While marketing may all about spin (the creative presentation of truths of half-truths) – sales seems to ignore that chore whole heartily and move right toward crafting the lie that will motivate the sale. I understand why – because the common salesman is a temporary incarnation – only around for a season or two and apathetic toward the notion that a relationship might be harmed or destroyed by lies – looking only toward the quick result.

Political campaigns are often the ultimate form of sales-bull and even if a particular candidate is not partaking of the time held tradition of bull, they are all tainted by the knowledge that so many have lied in the past and so many will lie in the future. I had the fortune to be on one classy political campaign during my tenure in the voting mines – but even that campaign fell prey to one action that was pure bull (much to the chagrin of the candidate) and it was sullied because of it.

I look now at our two main presidential candidates running and honestly they both seem rather straight forward in their policies and positions. I know however that the bull from both sides is inevitable. While not likely coming from the candidates themselves, the lovers of bull crawl out from under there rocks this time of our political process and begin their craft of crafting and slinging bull-$!^&. Both men will be sullied in this process, but they both knew that when they chose to take on the task of running for President of the United States.