I was privileged recently to accompany my oldest son (age 11) to an awards program sponsored by the Committee for Integrity Enhancement.

He won an award for his essay on Respect. (A fine writer, probably better than his old man!) Needless to say, I'm proud of the boy.

Sitting in that auditorium, where the emphasis was on character building and integrity in the community, a few thoughts came to mind about the subject of integrity.

First, be wary of companies that name themselves Integrity or trumpet their own moral virtue. Part of that is personal experience -- the only client I have ever fired had Integrity as part of its name.

There's also an old proverb I'll paraphrase here -- "Every man proclaims his own goodness, but who can really find it?" I tend to think integrity isn't something you broadcast, and it isn't something that should be part of your sales pitch. Just demonstrate it -- every day, in ways little and big.

It's something that should simply show. Integrity has little to do with words or promises, but a lot to do with the delivery.

Integrity doesn't calculate the cost/benefit ratio of doing right. Integrity doesn't weigh short-term gain versus long-term risk to reputation. Integrity acts on what is known to be right. If you're doing any calculating, then what you have is something other than true integrity. You have a decision resulting from weighing the options, which means you've given at least some consideration to not following your best judgment and instinct.

By now you know what's right and wrong. You know what's cutting corners, you know what's hiding flaws, you know what's true and what isn't. Give no thought to consequences, and just do the very best you can. The rest will take care of itself. (And even if it doesn't, you're still better off for having backbone.)

Labels: customer centered, management, planning