By Nat Crawford
My grandfather, "Mr. B" as he was known in the community, was an entrepreneur, business-owner and politician. He worked very hard defining his character. One key component was the power of his word.
My grandfather was "old school." He would make a verbal agreement, shake on it, and then make good on it. Only in the extreme cases would he use contracts. This is almost unheard of now days. Sadly it is because of the climate of our culture. But you can start making a difference by being a person of integrity with your word. You can build integrity in three easy steps.
First, learn to say "no" to opportunity. It takes a disciplined person to turn down bigger ROI and less output when you're facing lower ROI and higher output. But what is the long-term cost of scrapping your current commitments for speculative propositions? Bill Marriott, Executive Chairman of Marriott International. Years ago when faced with the boom of casinos, Bill had a decision to make. Would he bring in gambling to his hotels? Gambling brings upon many negative consequences and that was against his and the companies values. The trade of would be millions of additional profits. He turned the opportunity down because it was a violation of his core values.
Second, keep a detailed calendar. Most of us want to help other people out as as much as possible but it is easy to over commit when we don't know our own schedule. That is why keeping an online calendar synced with our spouse and our work is so important. I have been guilty many times of double booking my time only to cancel on someone. Each time it chips a small amount of reliability away from my character.
Third, count the cost. Listen to the words of Jesus in Luke 14:28, "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" This is solid advice. In recent years, Las Vegas has begun to look quite different. Amongst the bright lights, big signs and beautiful hotels sit many unfinished buildings. Builders, investors, forecasters, did not do their homework and in light of the economy and other problems, projects sit unfinished.
In Larry Burkett's Business by the Book is a story about Larry's father. Larry's father was an electrician. On one occasion he bid a rewire of a house for $2,000. Part way through the job he realized he underbid the job by $1,200. Keep in mind this was in the 1950's! His father didn't ask for more money, nor did he quit the job. He took a personal loan against his home to finish the job and never told the clients about it. That is integrity.
Who is someone in your life that models integrity? How have they earned it?Labels: calendar, cornerstone leadership solutions, cost, Integrity, Larry Burkett, Marriott, opportunity, ROI
