Honesty/Integrity

Defining Honesty

"Telling the truth, rather than lying or deceiving."

When Ethics Get Sticky...

Integrity Survey

1) Would you break a promise with a friend?
2) Would you be dishonest with your parents?
3) Would you gossip if you knew the rumor to be false?
4) Would you cheat on your boyfriend/girlfriend?
5) Would you cheat on a final exam?

Why do people lie?

• It's a handy way of getting out of trouble quickly. 
• It keeps me from having to make people uncomfortable with the truth.
• It's sometimes profitable in business to lie about a product. 
• Embellishing stories makes for interesting conversation. 

Where do you see dishonesty that really rubs you the wrong way?

• speakers who embellish the truth
• politicians who twist statistics and bend truth
• cheaters who get ahead of the honest at school or work
• parents who break promises to their children
• people who get jobs by lying on their resumes
• teachers who say they will test in one way but test in another way. (I got some good discussion on this one! Students hate this!)

Lies hurt the people lied to. 

Lies Grow.

One of the striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives. (Mark Twain)

A lie goes half way around the world before the truth can get
its pants on. (Winston Churchill)

Lies make us smaller as people.

"...you’ll never be truly successful unless everything you do is under girded with honesty and integrity." (Dr. Hal Urban, Life's Greatest Lessons)

We seldom get away with them.

 ''No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.'' -- Abraham Lincoln

Lying is a quick fix that you pay dearly for down the line. (Steve Miller)

They lead to personal failure.

They lead to failure in business.

Great companies these days both write out and try to adhere to a set of written Core Values:

"Compromise anything but your core values," (Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks.)

The cornerstone of all that is honorable, "integrity" is a value that requires us...to conduct ourselves in an honest, truthful, and straightforward way. There may be dishonest people in the world, but we don't have to admit them into our company.  (Joe Marasco, Senior Vice President of IBM, in listing Integrity as the first of the three great values of IBM.)

"We approach all aspects of our business with honesty and integrity." (McDonalds, from their "Values and Principles")

"Integrity, Competence, Tenacity, Patriotism, Service" (U.S. Air Force Core Values)

''Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you.'' (Warren Buffett, who became the 2nd wealthiest man in the USA by understanding and in investing in great companies. From Omaha World Herald, February 1, 1994)

They hurt our relationships.

They eat away at our happiness.

They hurt us physically.

They hurts us financially.

One day you'll need your reputation.