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.

Your Ego is Your Worst Enemy!

Over the years that I’ve been helping people with their careers I’ve seen a couple of types of executives. There are those who are spectacular successes and those who are successes. Give me the one who is merely a success any day, because, sooner or later, the “spectacular success” is going to crash and burn. If you’re a stockholder or board member of a company run by a spectacular success, better hope that he or she doesn’t take your company along with him or her when the fall comes.

I don’t think I need to give a list of the CXOs whose egos have resulted in the fall of once-high-flying companies like Enron, etc. Here are some things to take a hard look at if you’re a board member, a stockholder, or a “C” level executive to keep your company from winding up in the "Hall of Shame."

1). Why is the person who is CXO in that chair? This is a very hard question that boards should ask. Many people are bamboozled by “C” level charisma. Take it from my 25+ years of experience, charismatic CXOs are very dangerous. The best individual to run a company is not charismatic, but a little on the boring side.

Too many boards have been taken down the primrose path by a man or woman with “star power.” Unfortunately, men and women with “star power” have gigantic egos. They like to be in the limelight, and this can, and probably will, mean losses for your company.

The best CXO is one that is taking care of business, not polishing an image. The gladhander who knows everyone is almost certainly going to eventually be a poor CXO. The reason is simple — these people are narcissists. They will do whatever is necessary to get their “strokes” and attention. Give me the quiet, competent type any day to the “celebrity CEO.”

2). Is this person being paid too much? The answer is almost certainly “yes.” American companies have gotten into a very bad habit of paying “C” level executives based on hype as opposed to performance. I’m amazed when a “C” level executive is paid a huge bonus when the company has lost money. While I’m firmly against government regulation of this practice (or any other business practice) it is bad business and the “payday” will come sooner or later.

Pay “C” level executives for performance and revenue, not smoke and mirrors.

3). Whose interests is this person looking after — yours and the company’s or his or her own interests? Good CXOs see that they succeed when the company succeeds, and believe in a “team success” approach. Egotistical (poor) ones think that what is good for them is good for the company. A good CXO is like a good naval ship officer — the company comes first.

Watch your management team carefully and see whether or not the company is coming first. If not, it is time to chop some heads and put in some folks who will fulfill their duty to the stockholders, employees and customers of the company instead of polishing their own image or enriching their own bank accounts at the expense of the company. (Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing against large CXO salaries or money! I just think that it should be obtained the old fashioned way — by earning it.)

4). Is the CXO surrounded by “yes wo/men?” No one can make good decisions when they’re being told how wonderful they are at everything. A good CXO has advisors that will tell him/her the truth. As an executive coach, I often have to deliver an ego blow to help the executive. I can do this because I don’t work for the executive. Yes, I have had executives whose egos were too big to take this. They eventually failed, usually sooner than later. If your executives are surrounded by toadies, they’re not looking out after your interests. If you’re a board member or major stockholder, insist that your management team have coaches, advisors, or some way of getting independent, third party advice. Of course, assure that the coaching team is going to keep your business secrets secret. A good non-disclosure form with teeth helps. Your corporate counsel can, I’m sure, give you an example.

5). Is your CXO constantly seeking the limelight? While it is good to get publicity for the company, the media is notoriously fickle. They’ll love you one day and fry you the next. The CXO should be handling the company or division, and the PR Department should be handling the media (or carefully coaching the executives on how to do so). Keep your corporate officers away from the media as much as possible, leaving media relations to professionals at it.

6). What is the lifestyle of the CXO. You want a CXO that has a solid and tranquil domestic life with a partner that loves him or her, grown or well-behaved kids, and no nasty habits. You don't want your CXO in “People Magazine.”

Executives with mistresses, flashy lifestyles, playboy (or playgirl) habits, addictions or strange behaviors are not what you want! You want the attention to be on the company, not the lifestyles of the corporate officers.

Too many times American businesses have lost sight of the goal, which should be to make money for stockholders, provide customers with a quality, reliable product or service, employees with stable and enjoyable employment, and future generations with a company as a legacy.

The “perp walks” of the early 2000’s should have been a wake-up call to American business to police its own house. Instead, all it got us was SarbOx (a terrible law that does nothing except cost us money and time), and a black eye in the mind of the American public.

Good CXOs keep their eye on the ball and don’t get distracted by their egos. If you want to be a movie star, go to Hollywood. If you want to run a company, run a company. It’s that simple.

Here's to your prosperity,

J.