How To Have A Great Year With Integrity

You’ve set your goals for the New Year. Now you need to work hard to achieve those goals.

That means you have less than 12 months to make those numbers, hire those people, discover those new formulas, introduce those new products, and open those new locations. And you’d like to enjoy the process along the way… This could be tough!

So, what are you willing to sacrifice to achieve those goals?

• Are you willing to tell a few “white lies” to make those numbers?
• Are you willing to overlook a few rules to get your friends hired?
• Are you willing to fudge the data slightly to get approvals for your new formulas?
• Are you willing to cut a few corners to get those new products to market faster?
• Are you willing to abuse a few people to get those new locations opened sooner?

Maybe you need to set some boundaries.

Without boundaries, you’re going to cross the line. Somewhere. And at some point.

This may be the reason 85% of Fortune 500 companies include “Integrity” as one of their core values. They hope to encourage their many employees, around the globe, to “remember the boundaries.”

But regardless of company policy, or governance documents, or even stated values, real integrity beings and ends with you. Your decisions and actions are always in your control.

So how can you have a great year living inside these boundaries?

Focus on Consistency

As a differentiating value, Integrity has 2 meanings:

1. Holistic consistency of expectations and outcomes.
2. Honest and morally upright.

Most people only consider the second meaning – honest and morally upright. It’s obvious when someone has broken this value: they were either dishonest or did something immoral. And that’s a problem.

Integrity can be difficult to preserve when the only measurement is to highlight when it’s broken.

The secret to preserving integrity is in the first part – holistic consistency of expectations. It’s about being consistent in what you expect from yourself.

• If you want to make those numbers, you need follow your sales model – consistently.
• If you want to hire the right people, you need to follow your hiring process – consistently.
• If you want to discover that new formula, you need to follow your research model – consistently.
• If you want to introduce those new products, you need to follow your product launch plan – consistently.
• If you want to open all those new locations, you need to follow your new location plan – consistently.

There’s nothing noteworthy about being consistent. It’s just something you choose to do every day, day in and day out. And when you demonstrate consistency, the outcomes – achieving your goals – have a way of taking care of themselves.

 

On your journey to achieving your goals, have you set boundaries for yourself?

Where do you find it easy to be consistent and where do you struggle?