"Loose lips sink ships"
Client confidentiality is as critical as patient confidentiality. Every project, every property, and every client's trust must be handled with discretion and respect. This page explores why maintaining secrecy is not just a professional courtesy, but a foundational pillar of ethical conservation and restoration, and why "old wives tales" started from pointless, inaccurate gossip.
The weight of trust
Having experienced years involved in a different, extremely sensitive world that few will ever experience, I know first hand just how important trust a confidence are. Clients literally entrusted me with their lives, but what's changed nowadays
Imagine that you went to see your doctor about a particular personal issue. You expose yourself, and explain a lot of connected information to your doctor, who you assume is trustworthy, only to find that assumptions are everywhere, and emails are nothing more than today's version of 'bongo drums', where "trusted" individuals like to spread the gossip they've overheard, with the old adage known as 'Chinese whispers (untruths/invented stories) you most likely wouldn't like that, so why should others have to suffer with that type of unbelievably unprofessional behaviour?
However, this behaviour does appear to be 'the norm' nowadays, with "influencers' (comedians) posting online videos giving their incredibly ill-educated advice because they believe that they are good at what they do, and they will use, and show your personal home, on film, online, for the whole world to look at, just without your permission, which demonstrates their own considered ownership, known in AKA aggrevated theft, but why is this thought to be acceptable nowadays, when it certainly was not just a few decades ago.
Frankly this disgusting assumptive behaviour appears to be extensively used these days.
'Why on earth so', is a very deep, inqusitive question, and I believe, is a question that would benefit from the professional involvement of an accredited, registered clinical phsycologist who could, no doubt, provide professionally recognised observations on mental health needs. And that's not my expertise at all, but instead of giving "shadow pojectors" the opportuniy of thinking they are clever, just think, and learn.
Beyond casual conversation
The phrase "loose lips sink ships" stands the test of time, casual gossiping can have far-reaching consequences, damaging reputations, trust, and even the structural integrity of any project.
In the old days we always measured twice before cutting once. Similarly today, I really do think, based on what I see that people need to think twice, before opening their mouth once or pressing 'send', on their emails and there is a good reason why, 30 years ago, I created my saying stating: "The inquisitive mind prevails, where the Assumptive mind fails"
But 30 years later, here we are living in a world full of more assumptions, than we were 30 years ago.
Think.