The Cost of Secrecy

Imagine you’re at a $40/plate restaurant. After being led to your table, you need to use the restroom. Along the way, you pass the kitchen. What do you see?

Now imagine you’re at any old run-of-the-mill restaurant in town. You find your seat, then you go to the restroom, passing the kitchen along the way. What do you see?

There’s nothing to hide at the first restaurant. Most of the kitchen is visible. Probably not the case in the second scenario.

The first restaurant says, “We’re an open book. Take a look. Stay a while.”

The second restaurant says, “We have things to hide. Hurry along.”

There’s a positive correlation between what people are willing to pay and what they expect to see. Another way to say it: The curtain comes at a cost.

This is not only a restaurant phenomenon. If “pay” means any type of investment (i.e. time, loyalty, creative energy, labor, etc.), and “curtain” means any type of secrecy, then this applies almost everywhere.