INTEGRITY: KEY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS
Integrity is one of the four characteristics of successful businesses. It is important in every aspect
of business.
We live in a world where integrity isn’t talked about nearly
enough. It’s a world where “the end justifies the means” has become an
acceptable school of thought for far too many. Sales people over-promise and
under deliver, all in the name of making their quota for the month. Applicants
exaggerate in job interviews because they desperately need a job. CEOs
overstate their projected earnings because they don’t want the board of
directors to replace them. Entrepreneurs
overstate their pro formas because they want the highest valuation possible
from an investor. Investors understate a company’s value in order to negotiate
a lower valuation in a deal. Customer service representatives cover up a
mistake they made because they are afraid the client will leave them. Employees
call in “sick” because they don’t have any more paid time off when they
actually just need to get their end of the month pay done. The list could go on
and on, and in each case the persons committing the act of dishonesty told
themselves they had a perfectly valid reason why the end result justified their
lack of integrity.
It may seem like business organizations can gain power
quickly and easily if they are willing to cut corners and act without the
constraints of morality. Dishonesty may provide instant gratification in the moment
but it will never last. One can think of several examples of organizations
without integrity who are successful and who win without ever getting caught,
which creates a false perception of the path to success that one should follow.
After all, each person in the examples above could have gained the result they
wanted in the moment, but unfortunately, that momentary result comes at an
incredibly high price with far reaching consequences. Profit in any currency or
power is temporary, but profit in a network of people who trust an organization
as one with integrity is forever.
Every one person who trusts such organization will spread the
word of that trust to at least a few of their associates, and word of their
integrity-based operations will spread like wildfire. The value of the trust people
have in an organization is far beyond anything that can be measured. For entrepreneurs, it means investors that
are willing to trust them with their money. For employees it means a manager or
a boss that is willing to trust them with additional responsibility and growth
opportunities. For companies it means customers that trust giving them more and
more business. It means having an army of people that are willing to go the
extra mile to help such business because they know that recommending their
products/ services to others will never bring damage to their own reputation of
integrity. Yes, the value of the trust others have in a business organization
goes beyond anything that can be measured in money because it brings along with
it limitless opportunities and endless possibilities.
Reference:
www.amyreesanderson.com/blog
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