There was once an Emperor who surrounded himself with people more interested in their own well-being than that of the good of the empire. These distinguished members of the court enthusiastically showered the Emperor with all manner of praise, no matter what he happened to be doing. Nobody was willing to tell the truth, because everyone wanted to be included so that they could continue to enjoy the material benefits of being in the Emperor's good graces.

One fine morning, a very clever man showed up at the Emperor's Palace and claimed to be the finest tailor the world had ever known. Somehow, this man gained an audience with the Emperor, and told him that he would make a suit of finery so intricate, so bold, so stunning to the eye that the world would throw itself at the Emperor's feet and worship his sartorial splendor forever.

The Emperor's advisors waited with baited breath for the Emperor to speak, so that they would know whether to praise the man or toss him out on his ear. The Emperor readily agreed to hire the tailor, because he was the kind of man who was accustomed to being worshipped, and saw no reason for that to change. All the advisors praised the Emperor's wisdom and his keen eye for talent, and set the clever man up in a well appointed workshop right there in the Imperial Palace.

For several weeks, the shop doors remained closed. No one was allowed inside on the Emperor's orders. The Advisors milled about, desperate to know what was going on inside. Of course, nothing was going on. The clever man spent most of his time and considerable amounts of the Imperial treasury in the Capital City's finest pubs, sharing his newfound means with anyone who cared to celebrate with him. He'd already convinced the Emperor, so no one dared challenge him.

Finally, the Advisors could no longer bear not knowing what their opinion was supposed to be, and they demanded that the clever tailor present his clothes to the Emperor. He agreed, and with great fanfare, the tailor presented the Emperor with an empty box.

This confused the Emperor, which meant that it also confused his advisors. But the clever tailor whipped out his best marketing skills and said, "Certainly a man with your taste and obvious sense of style can see what beauty lay inside the box." He then expertly pantomimed the act of picking up the clothing that wasn't actually there and holding up for everyone to probably not see.

But a miracle happened. The Emperor did see the clothes, or at the very least, claimed to see them. Naturally, his advisors followed suit, and it was decided quite swiftly that the Emperor would display his new clothing in a parade the following day.

With much pomp and circumstance, The Emperor led a procession of the finest horses, soldiers, dancing girls, drummers, and several well-trained goats down the main thoroughfare of the Capital City, while his advisors gushed and marveled at the sight of him.

"Such a well-dressed man! Oh, it is a dream of mine to wear what he is wearing."

The regular folk decided that the sight of a naked, middle-aged man of questionable fitness proudly marching at the head of a vast procession was strange, but they weren't about to say anything, because they knew that contradicting the Emperor's advisors was a sure way to get tossed into a labor camp.

But there was one boy, sitting on his dad's shoulders, who hadn't yet heard of these camps. The boy pointed at the Emperor and said, "Hey Father! The Emperor has boy parts! Just like me!"

The father, who up till that point had been content to let the Emperor swing past, couldn't contain his mirth. The poor man burst out laughing. Before the guards could reach him, the laughter began to spread, and soon the thoroughfare was awash in the sounds of peasant amusement. The Emperor suddenly realized that there was such a thing as objective truth, and that objective truth could be very, very drafty. He slunk back to the palace, executed all of his advisors, and hired the boy as his new publicist.

The clever tailor (who wasn't a tailor at all, but an expert at marketing and sales) was already three days' journey away from the palace, his donkey well-laden with imperial gold.

It's a tired old tale, but one well worth telling again. In business, it's easy to allow reputation to take precedence over substance. We see it in designer clothing, mediocre and unhealthy food, and bland entertainment, all wrapped up in clever catch-phrases and focus-group tested slogans and flashy logos. As the Emperor discovered, real quality is inextricably intertwined with objective truth. We have to be willing to look past the packaging and be honest with ourselves and our customers, so that the customer's needs are met. Honesty is the foundation of trust, and trust creates the healthy relationships necessary for commerce to flourish.