WHY WE SHOULD HAVE INTEGRITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Let me ask you this question: Are you always above board, and honest in your business dealings?
I'm sure you are. But there are a lot of people out there who aren't. Some years ago, I took a car back to the dealer to trade in on another one. The salesman, who I knew somewhat from past dealings, looked over the car, and since it had 50,000+ miles, asked about whether the tires had been replaced.
"I replaced the front ones," I said. "But the rear ones are the originals."
"You're kidding," he said, flabbergasted. "I've been telling people all along that these tires would get 60,000 miles, but I never believed it."
You see, this salesman, good though he was, hadn't learned the truth of business: "Honesty sells -- and sells again."
In the slithering Spam merchants, we see lack of honesty in its extreme. Nothing these slime tell you is accurate. Would you buy from them? A recent story in the Wall Street Journal wrote of a man who bought loads of stuff from Spam merchants. His wife was amused by what he bought. My wife would not have been amused.
"Let me see," she would say, "You don't know who they are, you don't know how they got your name, you don't know where they're located, you don't know that the product does what it'll say it does. And yet you gave a credit card number to these people?"
Like it or not, those whose business dealings are a little on the shady side will eventually learn a couple of interesting facts:
1. People usually aren't as stupid as you think.
2. Even if they fall for it once, they probably won't come back.
Now, I know there are people out there reading this who disagree with my opinion. They know there are people out there who keep making the same mistakes over and over again. They know there are people who fall for everything you tell them, and then come back for more.
Sure, there are gullible people out there. Why, just tonight, I was reading a letter from someone who was talking about giant lakes on Mars. Sure, there are gullible people all around you. They can easily be taken advantage of. Why not take advantage of them?
("Why yes, Widow Jones -- you do need the high speed bumper bolts on that car.")
Why not take advantage of them?
Because it's:
1. Bad business.
2. Self-damaging.
3. Just plain wrong.

Number one:
Lying to customers is bad business because they eventually wise up. There may be those among your customers who are stupid enough to keep coming back for more, but the majority of your customers will have left long before you hang up that "Under New Management" sign in a bid to get them back.

Number two:
Lying to customers is self-damaging. When you spend all day lying for a living, you can't have much self-esteem at the end of the day. Your spouse refuses to believe you. Your kids treat your word like a junk bond. Your dog won't even look you in the eyes. Sooner or later, you'll wise up. You might even go get a job with a reputable company, if they'll have you with that resume stain of a former job.

Number three:
Lying to customers is just plain wrong. Do I have to go further than that? When you feel like you have to climb into an open sewer to get clean at the end of the day, it's time to re-evaluate your life. When you have integrity in your business dealings, people have no need to question whether you will do a job, and how you will get it done.
I was reading the annual report for Warren Buffet's company, Berkshire Hathaway, the other day. In it, he states how Berkshire bought McLane Distribution, a trucking company that specializes in stocking grocery and convenience stores, from Wal-Mart. Quoting from Buffet's always-interesting letter to shareholders, he said this:
"For several years, I have given my vote to Wal-Mart in the balloting for Fortune Magazine's 'Most Admired' list. Our McLane transaction reinforced my opinion. To make the McLane deal, I had a single meeting of about two hours with Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart's CFO, and we then shoot hands. (He did, however, first call Bentonville). Twenty-nine days later Wal-Mart had its money. We did no 'due diligence.' We knew everything would be exactly as Wal-Mart said it would be -- and it was."
You know, I noticed that Wal-Mart trusted Berkshire Hathaway, as well.
For many years now, Warren Buffet and his company have been honored, admired, consulted, followed, and revered. If we were to look at the factors that have made such admiration possible, and then boil those factors down to two things, they would likely be skill and integrity.
Why should we have integrity in our business life? Because it's good business -- for our company, for ourselves, and for our soul.

© Daryl R. Gibson, 2004