I was chatting recently with Mark Adlestone, the 3rd generation of his family to run Beaverbrooks the jewellers in the UK.

He runs a highly successful business with a great culture, and as a result it's been named one of the 'best places to work' in recent surveys by the Financial Times and the Sunday Times newspapers.

He believes that the 'company values' are at the core of this success, and prouduly showed them to me - displayed prominently on the wall. They all made a lot of sense - but one stood out in particular:

"Tell The Whole Truth Faster"

He explained that so often people dance around an issue, not wanting to offend others or create a confrontation - when really this just creates a bigger problem for a longer period of time. Whenever a member of his management team complains to him about a member of staff he always asks them 'Do they know exactly how you feel?' - and the answer is often 'no'.

It's perhaps a very English trait - and one that does us no good. We call it politeness, tact or diplomacy - but it leads to talking behind people's backs, resentment and mistrust.

I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I hate confrontation. I always want to be nice and friendly. But it ends up getting me in a pickle from time to time.

In any situation it really is far better to Tell The Whole Truth Faster - and that's going to be something I'm going to work hard at doing in the future.