Integrity is the essence of everything successful. It
is a proven concept that has been true in the past while providing direction
for the future.
The current research on business integrity reveals
new applications for individuals and organizations.
The
real value of integrity is that it is collective, not personal. Anna
Bernasek, in The Economics of Integrity, argues that integrity matters-not
just to our moral well-being but to our economic well being.
She observes that integrity is an essential part of
all business transactions. Profitability
is a natural outcome of integrity based relationships where sellers are
trustworthy and when consumers trust.
These relationships hold everything together and
allow the economy to work. Integrity, then, is a shared asset that brings
financial rewards. Investing in our collective integrity; is investing in our
collective wealth.
Without
integrity, nothing works. Dr Michael Jensen, a Harvard Business professor, proposes that “As integrity declines, workability declines,
and as workability declines, value declines. “
If you don’t have the right tools or parts to do the job, then the
ability to do the job is compromised and value of the final product is
diminished.
Maximization of any performance initiative requires
integrity. Acting without integrity, he concludes, generates painful
consequences just as surely as violating the law of gravity.
Integrity is a strategy for
Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) management at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The strategy is
built on three principles:
- An integrated approach to GRC fosters a culture of
business integrity and accountability;
- The embedding of integrity into organizational
structures and processes provides effective coordination of people,
process and technology capabilities; and,
- An integral code of business conduct ensures compliance
to the letter and spirit of the law.
Integrity is the key driver of
marketplace differentiation at Novartis, a leading healthcare company.
At
Novartis, integrity means doing the right thing, building a culture of
integrity, managing risks, strengthening their reputation and fostering a
competitive advantage. They establish performance standards for establishing,
promoting and enforcing integrity in all business processes. .
Integrity is about firing on all
cylinders. Dr Henry Cloud, a psychologist, states
that integrity is the courage to meet the demands of reality. He examines how
truthfulness, results orientation, overcoming adversity, continuous improvement
and worthwhile purpose are the essential qualities for personal success. .
Integrity
occurs when everything clicks and things unfold in an undivided, integrated,
intact and uncorrupted manner.
Integrity
is in the eye of the beholder. Tony Simons, in The Integrity Dividend, concludes that manages don’t define their integrity, others
do. Employees assess whether management words and actions fit.
When employees trust their managers’ integrity, they
demonstrate higher levels of engagement. The resulting discretionary effort
drives the customer experience and the economic benefit of integrity is
actualized. This is the integrity dividend.
Without trust
you have nothing, without integrity you can do nothing. Integrity is actionable
strategy for today’s business environment.
If you cultivate integrity within yourself and your
organization, everyone has a better chance to succeed.
Want to learn more? Contact me
at principledynamics@gmail.com
or call me at 706-267-0609. I want to speak to you about integrity and
how it can help you and all of us.
Douglas Ross is a businessman and an
advocate for integrity. He is the founder of Principle Dynamics
