On the matter of "Integrity"

Back to the habitually dishonest and or criminal elements among us and the question of whether they have integrity... Well certainly in my opinion some of them can and do and it is only one's perception, or rather misunderstanding that might create space for disagreement on that point. Note the use of the word 'perception' rather than say 'stated fact', or 'reality'. The key to understanding this topic is in the word "perception" and while that is another subject matter on its own, "perception" is in my opinion, one of the greatest causes of confusion, compromise and hypocricy in peoples lives. In other words, that which deminishes one's integrity. 

So to keep things simple here it is; "To be of sound integrity a person needs to be consistently true to one's self and to maintain that same standard in the outward expression of one's actions, regardless of circumstances, environment, or the expectations of others." To the majority of 'decent' citizens that intuitively might include the benchmarks of truth, honesty, fair minedness, courtesy, respect, do unto to others, etc, etc, etc.. To others it might mean something very different. Regardless of where someone is on the Integrity / Hypocricy scale of life, it is the applied consistentcy of one's internailised belief system that defines the substance of their integrity. To do less is to be a hypocrite and sadly the world is full of those, be they of inherently strong or weak character, good or bad. 


Hence why the 'integrity' question featured regularly during my interviews. I always made sure to note the respondents replies and it became one of the key reference points to assist in my decision of whether to call them in for a second interview, or later during reviews, to assist in my decision if they stayed on the team or not. I'm not talking about platitudes, or them spruking conveniently lofty ideals that they thought I might like to hear. I mean getting to the very foundations of who people are, their strength of character and their compatibility with the culture and envirnoment that was necessary for the business to succeed and so that I could sleep easy each night.

I've never had great difficulty in employing and retaining a good team of people. I put this largely down to the substance or their integrity.. Thank you guys.