resultsthroughintegrity

Adversity and Personal Integrity

By Ron Hurst
What is this thing and how does it play upon the human spirit? The dictionary states adversity comes from the word adverse –to oppose. Adversity is defined as misfortune, calamity, affliction, or distress. It is a general state of unhappiness -comes from the word adverse -to oppose

You Reap What You Sow

By Douglas Ross

Money, power and fame are the desired results of doing the right thing in business today.  Why does doing the right thing in business not always work?  Do you really need integrity in your life to be successful?

You reap what you sow is an ancient proverb that demonstrates the link between actions and results. People, who do not get the results they want, may want to look at their intentions.

Ground Hog Day

By Douglas Ross

Ground Hog Day is the story of a reporter caught in a time loop where he awakens every day to the morning of the day before.  It is the comical story about being stuck in the same old story and getting unstuck.  It mirrors parts of our life as we know it at work and at home.

Bill Murray portrays Phil, a man of little integrity and dubious character, who covers the story of ground hog day in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is caught in a repetitive pattern of life that he is not even aware of. Only because he awakens every day to the same day does it dawn on him that he is stuck in his own muck.

Thou are That

By Douglas Ross
Joseph Campbell’s book “Thou Are That” inspired this recent funny dialogue with my seven year step -daughter.  “Thou Are That” simply means what you see in other people is within yourself. This is an important first step in the development of integrity. When people take this small step, people accept responsibility for their perception and feelings about others. It then becomes a force in our decision making and a code of behavior for our actions and words. It is amazing how children can lead us to important truths.

The Technology of Integrity

By Douglas Ross

I have defined integrity as wholeness, consistency and purity. This simply means that the whole thing is working well. That means that the whole organization and all its departments and systems are undivided, integrated, intact and uncorrupted. Consistency is the effectiveness and efficiency of the performance of the whole and its parts over time. Purity is the process of objective decision making that drives out the waste that neutralizes performance. Integrity can be viewed either as an organizational principle, which I call “Integrity as it “or as a flow principle, which I call “Integrity in motion.”

Integrity -Obvious and Unheeded

                                                 By Douglas Ross

I wrote the following article to show how strategies that are obvious but unheeded become the critical difference in any outcome. David McCulloch illustrates this point in his narrative on George Washington and the American Revolution in his book 1776. Today, as Toyota has overtaken GM in car sales, it is my belief that integrity is that obvious but unheeded strategy.

“It is absolutely necessary for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders” George Washington.

The Whack-a-Mole Approach to Management

 

by Douglas Ross

I wrote this fun but revealing look at what I call the business whack-a-mole approach to managing. I hope you enjoy it . It sets the stage to look at companies that take the path of most resistance to resolving systemic issues.

It is very simple. The world is complex and moving fast. The demands are challenging and the consequences immediate. Unravel the challenges and the world is your oyster. Surrender to the challenges and the world swallows you. The path of least resistance leads to surrender while the path of most resistance offers the world.

Will Integrity Work in Business?

Written by Douglas Ross

I received this letter from a retired executive who worked in a multinational:

"I've been thinking about your integrity theme and I am having a hard time picturing how you will present it as a saleable commodity to business.  I don't think that integrity guarantees you success or failure in business. There are lots of unethical people that are very successful in business and lots of people with integrity who have failed.  I believe that integrity is the way that you should live your life but I can't find the link in my mind that would be a plan for success in the business world. Perhaps you can share your thoughts on this with me."

My answer is that integrity is a technology and not just a personal value. We will examine the technology of integrity in the next article but first let us turn our attention to integrity and success.

Acts of Integrity

Written by Douglas Ross

The purpose is to develop a living document around the central idea that results follow acts of integrity that are either personal or  professional, individual or collective. Over the past three weeks I have received over 30 e-mails and phone calls about integrity. I have benefited immensely as you have shared your wisdom and knowledge. Thank you.

Integrity is personal but its application is universal. I have seen integrity in action in many walks of life through simple words that convey a lifetime of knowledge.

I have grouped your comments into three forums of discussion. I want to share with you what each other has proposed. The summary is a reflection of the truth that people spoke. Their words were honest and from the heart. Some are writers, some are not-it didn’t matter. Their message was what was important.

The Emperor has No Clothes

» Download emperor.pdf Written by Douglas Ross Is your organization meeting the right targets? Are your people displaying the behaviors that lead to significant performance improvement? Is your organization identifying and dealing with its current realities? Is your culture strong and vibrant at all levels? Do you know why the organization is perfectly aligned to get the results it currently is achieving? An organization is a purposeful system with specific performance objectives. To achieve its purpose, organizations create departments. Departmental organization and the interrelationship between departments affect performance. For example, the effectiveness of the materials management department and its interaction with operations impacts business target achievement. If department operation and any inter-department interaction occur with inefficiencies and waste, then these inefficiencies are translated into costs that carry forth into the performance.