HOW INTEGRITY SUSTAINS WEALTH AND SUCCESS
In
the school of true success and lasting wealth, the integrity test is the most
important examination each of us must pass. Hard work, talents and skills may
take you to the top, but it is your character that
will keep you there.
People who use shortcuts to
jump up in life certainly come down, but those who use integrity to grow up
stay up. That’s why Eric Deschamps, a
business coach, advises that
“On your journey to success, don’t be tempted to take moral
shortcuts. No achievement is worth compromising your values.”
Integrity means “doing
the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is
watching.”
Having integrity isn’t a quick fix you can do
like a 100-metre dash, it’s a marathon that takes years of building and
strengthening your character. So it requires courage, patience, persistence,
and determination. And it takes a solid spiritual foundation for integrity to
endure, otherwise you see people lose in a minute the integrity that took them
years to build.
Advances in technology are placing demand for more
transparency on business. If a business is dishonest, it can easily be
discovered online. These days it’s very difficult to trick people for long.
That’s why your integrity really counts.
Advantages of
integrity include the following:
* People want to do business with either individuals or
companies they trust.
* Trust always translates into more clientele through
repeated patronage and referrals.
* Integrity increases the profitability of a business. For
instance, in The Economics of Integrity, journalist
Anna Bernasek writes that with integrity we can really
create wealth. That in any situation of transaction, it’s integrity and trust
that represents an asset that produces economic value.
* Integrity guarantees the sustainability of a business.
At the individual level, integrity can give or even help
you preserve a job that intelligence alone can’t do. Amy Rees Anderson, an angel investor, quotes Billionaire Warren
Buffet, as saying that, “In looking for people to hire, look for three
qualities: integrity, intelligence,
and energy. And if they don’t have
the first one, the other two will kill you.”
(2)
Be a little bit hard on yourself: If you must maintain your
integrity, you’ve got to work on yourself more than you do on your job. There’re
certain demands you must place on yourself, to regulate your attitude, behavior
and actions.
(3) Under promise but over deliver: Don’t
exaggerate your promises. It is better to under promise and over perform. Let
them get more than they bargain for. Let them get more value than the amount
they’ve paid for. Douglas Adams says that, “To
give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured
with money, and that is sincerity and integrity”.
(4) Employ
standard practices, not shortcuts: Follow approved and right procedures,
instead of cutting corners. There’re approved practices in business, careers,
and professions. Find out what they’re in your field and apply them.
(5) Say no where it’s necessary but with politeness: If you’re faced
with a situation you may be needed to compromise your values, which may in turn
adversely affect your job or business, be courageous enough to say no but with
respect to the customer or person concerned. Chinua Achebe wrote that “One of the truest
tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.”
(6)
It’s better to say I’m sorry and win than
refuse to say it and lose: There may be situations you over-react to people’s
mistakes or just offend them unintentionally. Whenever you realize that we went
too far, be courageous enough to apologize. Sharif H. Joynson suggests that you apologize the right way. That is, instead of I’m sorry,
but...” you just say “I’m sorry”.
(7)
Always show understanding and compassion
to people: All human beings, be
there staff or clients, aren’t the same in terms of level of understanding and behavior.
We also have different backgrounds, levels of exposure, and world view. All
these influence our actions and reactions. Integrity demands that you’ve got to
show empathy in all your dealings with people.
Integrity
is a great source of personal power. It doesn’t only make all progress easier,
but it also sustains your wealth and success. Develop and keep it at all cost.
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