What is Luke’s most powerful and persuasive response to the reasons and rationalizations he needs to address?
a. In the end, Luke used all of these arguments and also said, flatly, that he was not going to lie to the customer. He persuaded the CFO to allocate additional funds to buy and install the necessary equipment before the customer audit. The result: The customer was satisfied, the boss was pleased, and both the team’s morale and its reputation in the company improved. This experience was a turning point for everyone. 

Here is how Luke concluded his story: 

This was not the last challenge of this sort that I faced with the company, and in each situation I used the same approach—to always be open, transparent, and honest about issues and problems. In my opinion, the minute that you take that approach you begin to lay a foundation that makes all of the coming decisions that much easier, and over time you are able to build a strong ethical base on which to work and live. I think you also build a reputation as being open and honest, which influences people around you.