Integrity Counts in Business and in Life
Integrity is important in both business and personal lives, but what exactly is integrity? It is ethical, honest and moral behavior that promotes the welfare of everyone. Integrity, or the lack thereof, seems to become a particular issue when money is involved. Suppose you find a wallet containing money and identification in the grocery store parking lot. Do you: 1. take the wallet home and then call the owner and arrange return 2. turn the wallet in at the store or 3. take the money and toss the wallet in a dumpster?
What about the customer who overpays an invoice? Do you give them a call to find out if they intended to overpay or if someone made a mistake or do you happily keep the money?
Or what about the event that will occur at a facility where your company had a past issue and has been told not to return. You are contacted by someone wanting your services and it is a several thousand dollar contract at a slow time of year. Do you go ahead and book the event then try to figure out how to pull it off without getting caught or do you decline it?
Do you tell your fiancee about the ex-wife and child support payments before or after the wedding? All these situations and others have occurred in recent months.
If we look at the bigger picture in each instance, we begin to see the possible consequences of our choices. Tossing a wallet containing identification into a dumpster could open the door to identity theft. Better to do the right thing and demonstrate your integrity by returning the wallet and its contents. You could save someone days of work canceling and replacing the credit cards, driver's license and other documents, as well as saving them from possible identity theft or fraudulant credit card use.
When the customer who overpaid realizes their mistake - and they will at some point - and you didn't contact them, you may lose not only their future business but gain bad press when they tell their associates about their experience with your company and the lack of integrity shown.
If the business who is banned from a venue shows up and is recognized, the entire event could be cancelled on the spot, leaving the event host embarrassed, angry and ready to sue for the cost of the entire event and more. He/she and/or their business could be placed in a difficult and embarrassing position with customers, employees and the general public through no fault of their own. Additionallly, the banned business will lose credibility in the eyes of the venue (who may never invite them back), the event planner, the event host and everyone they know. A lawsuit could be expensive and possibly cause the demise of your business. Better to demonstrate integrity and lose a few dollars.
Being less than honest with a future spouse could result in cancellation of the wedding, or in the case mentioned above, in a divorce shortly after the wedding.
Integrity counts and pays dividends for you and your business. Do the right thing in every situation and you will develop a reputation for your honesty, as well as having a clear conscience at the end of the day. Don't risk doing something impulsively that could have lasting negative consequences.
What about the customer who overpays an invoice? Do you give them a call to find out if they intended to overpay or if someone made a mistake or do you happily keep the money?
Or what about the event that will occur at a facility where your company had a past issue and has been told not to return. You are contacted by someone wanting your services and it is a several thousand dollar contract at a slow time of year. Do you go ahead and book the event then try to figure out how to pull it off without getting caught or do you decline it?
Do you tell your fiancee about the ex-wife and child support payments before or after the wedding? All these situations and others have occurred in recent months.
If we look at the bigger picture in each instance, we begin to see the possible consequences of our choices. Tossing a wallet containing identification into a dumpster could open the door to identity theft. Better to do the right thing and demonstrate your integrity by returning the wallet and its contents. You could save someone days of work canceling and replacing the credit cards, driver's license and other documents, as well as saving them from possible identity theft or fraudulant credit card use.
When the customer who overpaid realizes their mistake - and they will at some point - and you didn't contact them, you may lose not only their future business but gain bad press when they tell their associates about their experience with your company and the lack of integrity shown.
If the business who is banned from a venue shows up and is recognized, the entire event could be cancelled on the spot, leaving the event host embarrassed, angry and ready to sue for the cost of the entire event and more. He/she and/or their business could be placed in a difficult and embarrassing position with customers, employees and the general public through no fault of their own. Additionallly, the banned business will lose credibility in the eyes of the venue (who may never invite them back), the event planner, the event host and everyone they know. A lawsuit could be expensive and possibly cause the demise of your business. Better to demonstrate integrity and lose a few dollars.
Being less than honest with a future spouse could result in cancellation of the wedding, or in the case mentioned above, in a divorce shortly after the wedding.
Integrity counts and pays dividends for you and your business. Do the right thing in every situation and you will develop a reputation for your honesty, as well as having a clear conscience at the end of the day. Don't risk doing something impulsively that could have lasting negative consequences.
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