You're retired - the words I don't expect to hear - Telegraph I feel we are doing all we can to make sure we keep the Timpson philosophy for at least a couple more generations. Q Luke Johnson wrote recently that lying is part of business. Do you agree with him? A It's true, lots of lies are told in the belief they are good for business, but liars often find the fibs come back to haunt them. Let's start with a few little lies: "He's in a meeting"; "I'll ring you back"; "I need to get Board approval." These everyday fibs undermine the trust needed to build a proper relationship. Dishonesty does real damage when it becomes a prevalent part of company politics. You can't develop teamwork in an organisation where colleagues don't tell each other the truth and a boss loses respect if he doesn't keep his promises. I've never enjoyed the dishonest drama that usually develops whenever people do a deal. Negotiating ploys, gamesmanship, last-minute price chips and lawyers who love working through the night would all be unnecessary if both sides were totally honest with each other. My most satisfactory deal was done on a handshake over dinner. The terms were faithfully reproduced in the final contract, which was agreed within normal working hours. Lack of honesty, or as some put it, lack of total transparency, is a normal part of modern business, so I'm uneasy about the witch-hunt concerning creative accounting at Tesco. I would be very surprised if the "treatment of supplier benefits" used to boost short-term profits is a technique exclusive to Tesco. The company is an easy target, suffering from our unattractive habit of kicking someone who's already down. Some of the worst lies are devised by employment lawyers. They insist that "risk of redundancy" notices are sent to some people who you know will never be selected to leave. They also have the whole country writing warning letters and putting people on performance management programmes that pretend to help employees to do better, when in truth the documents are written to create a tidy file for a possible future tribunal. Some lawyers are among the worst liars in business. Nearly every day I get a phone call claiming I've been a victim of mis-selling and can expect well over £1,000 in compensation. It isn't true. "No win, no fee" lawyers are seldom on the moral high ground. Liars might win a few points, but people like giving their long-term business to the honest traders they really trust. It is so much easier to tell the truth. Q I see you are publishing a book of past questions and answers. What do you think is the best bit of advice you have given to young people setting out in business? A The book was prompted by a reader who had the habit of clipping out the column each week for a nephew who was starting his own business in Australia. The reader suggested they should be put together in a book. It was two years before I got round to the task of picking what should be included. I suppose I've selected my favourites, ones I particularly enjoyed writing and those that made me smile. It's not for me to say which ones give the best advice, I just hope some readers have benefited from a wide range of topics, especially the importance of recruiting for personality and the need for a quick but pleasant way to say goodbye to poor performers. Inevitably, I've answered lots of questions about retailing and family businesses but, whatever the enterprise, managers should have the courage and confidence to back their own judgment rather than following a process that pretends to be best practice. I hope that when I confessed to suffering from stress it gave some assurance to others with the same problem. Running a business is never easy. I always wanted my words to be of help to others but didn't anticipate how much I would learn myself through compiling the column. Having to put things down on paper has made me think more carefully about the way we run the business, and to answer many of the questions I've needed the help of colleagues who are dealing with detailed problems every day - they have taught me a lot, but when I am stumped by a really tricky question I've been rescued by my wife, Alex, who bases her answers on common sense. Ask John is published by Icon, priced £12.99. To order your copy for £9.99 plus p&p, call 0844 871 1514 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk