Integrity as a Business Strategy

He was cordial, but distant as he welcomed me into his executive office.

“I can give you five minutes. What, in your opinion, is the relationship between integrity and performance?” he said with a smile.

“Most people only think of integrity as a personal characteristic,” I answered, “but integrity is a critical element of organizational systems, processes and structures. Integrity is defined as wholeness, consistency and objectivity. In simple terms, it is about doing the right thing, doing the next right thing, and doing things right. Performance is a logical consequence and sustainability is the outcome.”

 “Interesting,” he replied, “What is the role of integrity in business?”     

“Simply put,” I declared, “You either have integrity or you don’t. If you have it, you get it. If you don’t have it, it gets you.”

“What do you mean?” he inquired.