INTEGRITY IS ABOUT THE SMALL THINGS

By:  J. Maxwell

"Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation." Proverbs 16:12 (The Message)

As important as integrity is to your business success, it's even more critical if you want to become an influencer. It is the foundation upon which many other qualities are built, such as respect, dignity, and trust. If that foundation of integrity is weak or fundamentally flawed, then being a person of influence becomes impossible.

That's why it's crucial to maintain integrity by taking care of the little things. Ethical principles are not flexible. A little white lie is still a lie. Theft is theft - whether it's $1, $1,000, or $1 million. Integrity commits itself to character over personal gain, to people over things, to service over power, to principle over convenience, to the long view over the immediate.

Anytime you break a moral principle, you create a small crack in the foundation of your integrity. And when times get tough, it becomes harder to act with integrity, not easier. Character isn't created in a crisis; it only comes to light. Everything you have done in the past - and the things you have neglected to do - come to a head when you're under pressure.