Integrity is one of those personal measures that we all aspire to have. For me, having gone through so many difficult challenges in life, such as a business going bankrupt and being fired from a high-profile job, I became sensitive to what people were saying. I quickly learned that actions speak louder than words. There is no room for excuses and sweeteners with integrity.
Many of my recent articles were brought to life by something a friend or colleague said that I found intriguing. This is a joy of being a good listener. It is also a trait of someone with integrity. This article is no different. A close friend was telling me why he left his job a while ago. He told me that the company was not living up to his moral standards. For me it was a conversation with a close friend and she said: I know you wouldn’t do that. You have too much integrity. I was amazed.
I ask if you are a one person company and you put CEO on your business card, are you telling the truth? I think you are. Does it reflect what and who you are? That’s where it becomes a gray area. Rest assured, integrity is not left to gray areas.
A common term that we don’t hear as much as before is “My word is my bond.” Say it all, right? Putting this into a business perspective, people like to deal with people they trust and respect. Trust and respect are earned. They are a critical part of integrity. Regaining trust and respect after losing it is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do. It forces you to be honest. To bare everything. Fuzz is a white substance that lives on top of the cake. We must not allow it to infiltrate our daily lives.
Have you taken stock of who you are? Do you think you have integrity? There is only one way to find out and that is to spend a lot of time in silence remembering meaningful conversations. Conversations where a shared mutual respect was expressed aloud. Ask yourself if I were your customer, would you buy from me? Life is about who trusts us and not so much about who we trust. If you can honestly say that people trust me. They believe that what you say will reflect what you do. Congratulations. You qualify.