When it comes to business and personal
values, it is often Integrity that is selected by most people on their list of
top 5. But if we look at what integrity is all about we find that it cannot be
a value on its own, it is the core of all your values. It describes how you
address your other values and how fast you recover from them once they have
been violated, this is your integrity.
Both myself and the business have signed up
for the Unashamedly Ethical pledge on their website. They offer you the chance
to put your hand up and say “Yes, I wish to be different from those around me
and run both myself and my business with integrity. Here is a list of their
pledge statements:
We commit
To be honest and
ethical in all our dealings.
To provide
efficient, economic and effective products and services in an impartial manner.
To provide all
stakeholders with timely, accessible and accurate information.
To refuse to elicit,
accept or pay any bribes, and to report those who do.
To negotiate all
contracts with the utmost integrity.
To pay taxes, and to
pay all creditors on time.
To pay reasonable
salaries and wages.
To submit ourselves
to just and ethical governing authorities.
To remember the poor
by investing generously and sacrificially in the broader community.
To collaborate with
our peers to impact our community and nation.
So Integrity is not a value, it is just how
we do business.