Is Business Integrity Dead or Not?

April 27, 2012 - PRLog -- Based on the experiences that I have had over the last few years and on the experiences of others that I have witnessed, sometimes it seems that integrity – I mean genuine, pure integrity on the most basic level – cannot survive in the business world.  Is this true?  Have I just encountered the wrong people and the wrong situations?  Are my standards too high?  Is it me?  Is my definition of integrity just WRONG?  I am going to explore that now the only way that I know how – written expression.  I can do nothing but twist and squeeze the words that I love, and hope that the answer….well…squirts out.

So, we can all agree that for everyone the goal of business is to make money, at least to some degree.  Even those who start a business with a passion for something – a hobby, an invention, an art, an idea – want and probably need to make a living, unless they already have a stockpile of money that will never run out, or some other sufficient form of income.  In spite of the lofty mission statements of some entrepreneurs that speak of providing ‘insert extraordinary life changing product or service here” to the world, no entrepreneur is willing to throw everything that they own into a business and live in a box under a bridge by night, and work with free WiFi from a coffee shop by day – and not be able to afford coffee. At least not forever.  We all have to survive and provide for ourselves and our families.

So we all either work at jobs within someone else’s business, or we run our own, and those businesses, theoreticaly, provide something of value to consumers or other businesses, and therefore people buy it.  AND YET….no product or service is of value to everyone, right?  AND YET….businesses will sell their goods to anyone who is willing to pay, right?  Is that RIGHT?   Fast food joints sell horrible food to anyone who asks for it – no weight check, no health check – and we can all pretty much agree that while its not a pretty picture, the burger-eater is acting with free will, so no harm no foul.

But what about a doctor who prescribes a drug to a patient knowing that  1) the drug is probably unnecessary and/or 2) the drug is potentially harmful or addictive, however the drug is legal and the doctor  gets a  nice kickback from the pharma company for prescribing that drug?  The patient has the free will to research the drug or get a second opinion, but we can safely assume that most people will trust the doctor because he is a professional and they will take it.

So, lets talk about other businesses that provide professional services.  Lawyers are an easy example.  Many people will say that they don’t trust lawyers, but  if you’re in trouble and a lawyer gives you advice, chances are you are going to take it and pay for it big time – in dollars, and perhaps in other ways if the advice is wrong. The law is not an exact science, so advice is just advice.  Its allowed to be bad, or so it would seem.

How about  business services like web development or marketing or business consulting?  They are not exact sciences and there are no standard fees, so what about a “professional” who charges too much and/or provides services that are unnecessary, low quality, or just ineffective?  Sure, most people would get multiple quotes and do some homework for those types of services, but really good salespeople have a way of gaining your trust and loyalty, and they might just win you over.  Is it okay?  Is it okay to SELL something defective and overcharge for it?  If you’re talking about a car that the salesperson knows is broken, then the answer is obviously no, but not everything is that  clear cut.

What about new businesses like mortgage modification services, mortgage forensic auditing, or similar services that are capitalizing on the real estate bust?  Some companies providing those “services” have been identified as fraud and shut down, but there are hundreds – maybe thousands – that are still in business and that may or may not be operating legally, or at the very least are walking a thin line.

There are too many examples of businesses that provide unnecessary, overpriced, poor quality, or even fraudulent services to ever list or even identify, and what they do is not always illegal or fraudulent or against any written rule, HOWEVER…I  believe that if you do those things, you lack INTEGRITY.  Period. If you choose money over what is right, you lack integrity.  If you cheat people, you lack integrity.  Consumers.  Colleagues. Partners. Friends.  Anyone.  If you purposely mislead someone or give bad advivce for money, you lack integrity.  If you are disloyal to someone for money, you lack integrity.  Period.  Again.

Those are my standards.  Are they too high? Do I expect to much of human beings who are just doing what they can to survive??  You know what?  (I squeezed and the answer just burst forth like a geyser from the earth).  I really, really, really don’t think so.  Integrity is everything, and I expect it.  I will continue to expect it.  I am far from perfect….in fact I am so far from perfect that I can’t even hear it when it screams.   I have made many mistakes, and I have terrible horrible flaws that are too numerous and/or embarrassing to discuss.  However, in business, I will do everything in my power to always do the right thing.  I don’t cheat.  I don’t lie.  I am loyal.  I do the best quality work that I know how.  If someone comes to me with a business idea and they want a business plan, but I believe or know that they don’t have a cat’s chance in a shark tank of success, I won’t take their money.  If I know that a partner is doing something unethical or wrong, I won’t tolerate it.  If I know that someone is making a mistake, I will speak, whether the receiving ears want to hear it or not.  I will speak and try and do my best until I am forced into silence, and then I will be able to do nothing but let people stumble down their chosen paths to failure, or worse.  But I still hurt for them.

No, I think my standards are just right.