Integrity

What is integrity?  And what impact does it have on your business and relationships?

The dictionary defines integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.  What it really boils down to is, can that company or individual be relied upon to be as good as their word?  To do what they said they would do when they said they would do it?  I am sure we can all agree that we would prefer to work for a company or hire a company or marry an individual that we know we can count on to do what they said they would do.  The alternative is very frustrating and in business can be costly.

Sometimes, things come up that are beyond our control and prevent us from being our word but someone with integrity will:

1. Acknowledge that they originally promised “X” and will not be able to do as they promised and where possible, communicate that in a timely manner so they      have an opportunity to adjust to the change you have presented.  
2. Ask them how your failure to be your word has impacted them and their organization so you can understand the full impact that you have made. Perhaps you don’t realize that you're not providing what you promised or being late has caused a catastrophic ripple effect throughout the organization.
3. Apologize wholeheartedly for the impact of your actions and any inconvenience caused.  Reconcile losses if possible.
4. Let them know that you can be counted on to be your word in the future and invite them to establish a new plan or solution with you.

This sequence is powerful for restoring your integrity.  However, have you ever had a friend or colleague who consistently lets you down or is late and they apologize profusely and they seem to really mean it but then they continue to repeat the same pattern?  They may be very nice but how many times can that person disappoint you before you decide that it is safer not to rely on them?  

Statistically speaking, a very small percentage of people will take the time to complain to you about their bad experience and give you an opportunity to correct or resolve the issue.  The majority of people will quietly take their business or their friendship elsewhere which can result in the steady and seeming inexplicable decline of your business or relationship.

Any time I notice challenges popping up in any area of my life I challenge myself to do an integrity check and humbly look for where I have allowed myself to fall out of integrity. Then I go about cleaning up the messes I have inevitably caused.  

What kind of impact could it have on your whole company culture if management invited employees to join them in examining where they see that they and the company are out of integrity and then supported them in actively cleaning it up company-wide?  It takes work and sometimes it may cost you money but I truly believe that shifting your focus to managing your integrity on a personal and professional level will elevate your relationships and your business to the next level in the long run.