Integrity

“The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

We live in a country which has become bereft of honor and integrity. Integrity is a concept about which I should never need to write. In times past a man or woman without integrity would be ostracized by the community. Now, we elect Presidents who consistently lie, whether it be about blue dresses or weapons of mass destruction. We see corporate head after corporate head doing the “perp walk.” And cheating others has become a way of life.

I used to operate my business on a handshake. No more. If I did so now, I’d be broke. My contract, over the years, has grown longer and longer as “loopholes” have had to be sewn up to make it more difficult to defraud me of my fee for work performed. But integrity is the foundation of being a good leader, although, given the “role models” that we have, one would never know it.

I find that, increasingly, “C” level executives are taking honor and integrity less and less seriously. Rather than honoring one’s word, it has become “what can I get away with?”. Many top-level executives do not see their word, or even contracts, as having any meaning. Virtually before the ink is dry on the contract, they’re at their attorney’s office trying to find a way to break it. Here are a few of the things that integrity means to me.

1). Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. This seems elementary to me, but, apparently, is not to many people. If you cannot do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it, negotiate so that you are doing as close to what you said you were going to do and when you said you were going to do it as possible. But only negotiate if there are such overwhelming circumstances as to make doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it literally impossible.

2). Carry through on your word, even if it costs you money, time or other things. No, there is not a built-in clause in every promise or contract that says, at the end of something which must be performed, “if I feel like it.” If you sign a contract or make a promise and then find out that the contract or promise is more costly than you thought, follow through on it anyway.

Of course, I’m leaving out fraud here. If the person you made the promise to or signed the contract with was making false statements to you to induce you to make a promise or sign a contract, you are not, of course, bound by your word. But let’s be sure that we are sure that the other person lied before vacating our word.

3). Leave other people’s stuff and relationships alone. I’m truly amazed at the prevalence of adultery and theft in our society. No society can long survive if the basic institutions of society are not respected.

Marriage is being eroded daily. No, not by gay marriage. Two people of the same gender making a loving commitment to one another does not erode marriage. The incredibly high rate of infidelity and divorce erode marriage. This is an integrity issue.

So is the widespread fraud that is going on in American businesses today. Halliburton, for example, has made its stockholders wealthy by stealing from American taxpayers and not providing our troops with the necessities they were contracted to provide them with. And what will happen? Well, look at the people who own large blocks of stock in Halliburton. Probably nothing will happen. They’ve gotten away with the theft of billions of dollars — billions that we, the taxpayers, have paid them. But just because they won’t be held criminally accountable, doesn’t mean it is OK or make it right.

4). Behave as if everything you did will be on the 6 PM news or CNN. I won’t do business with someone I know is cheating on their spouse. Why? Because if your own spouse can’t trust you, why should I trust you? If you can’t keep a vow, what makes me think that you’ll keep a contract, hmmm?

Integrity is a seamless garment. You either have it or you don’t. You cannot be one kind of person and another kind of businessperson. You can’t be a lousy husband, wife, father, mother, friend, etc. and be, for example, a good doctor. You may be skilled, but you aren’t good, and there is a difference. Give me a man or woman who is less skilled, but a better person over a highly skilled fraud any day.

5). Don’t defend those who are not acting in integrity. Doctors do it. Police officers do it. Men do it for other men and women for other women. There seems to be a growing code that defends those who are not acting in integrity. I see this more and more in the business world. If you cover up for or defend those who have performed an act which is deceitful, fraudulent, or otherwise dishonest, you are no better than they are. I will not do business with nor otherwise trust an individual who defends someone who has been shown to be a dishonest person because they have displayed both personal dishonesty and poor judgment.

Remember, if you defend someone who is dishonest you are “hitching” your reputation to theirs. Do you really want to do that? (Obviously, there are times when defend someone before we know the facts. I’m speaking here of continuing to defend someone when it is clear and conclusive that individual is dishonest or dishonorable.)

6). Don’t “hang” with those who do not have honor. There is an old saying “if you’d steal for me, you’d steal from me.” This is incredibly true. If someone has betrayed a friend, you will be on the chopping block sooner or later. If they’ve stolen from others, watch your wallet. I’m continually amazed at the defensive circle which forms around business or political figures who have obviously cheated, stolen, and so on. It turns my stomach to watch the wives of politicians caught in the act of infidelity standing there smiling at the press conference next to the slime they married. Be careful who you have around you because Mom was right. You will be judged by the type of friends you have.

7). Defend your honor. If you have, indeed, acted in integrity and someone else has not, and you are being tarred with their brush, quietly but firmly defend your honor. This is sometimes costly, and usually inconvenient. But do not allow anyone to tarnish your good name — and they WILL try. Go to court if necessary, but do whatever you must do to defend your name and your honor if you, indeed, have kept it intact.

This certainly does not exhaust the topic of integrity. But it is a start. Every day you must ask yourself if you have performed in such a way that others will look at your integrity and feel reassured that they, too, are in good hands. Integrity is almost like being a virgin. Once it is broken it is difficult to go back. Don’t lose your integrity virginity.

John.