Integrity For Financial Services Professionals

Integrity is: Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

Integrity is NOT: simply standing by your own ideals just to be rigid.

The dictionary defines integrity as: Adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.

Adherence to strict moral and ethical reasoning is different than sticking by something you just believe in solidly or choose for you desires. Moral and ethical codes have within them a sense that these ideal transcend individualized agendas and instead are codes which apply to a wider group than just yourself.

Why do I bring up integrity? Because all too often we get so focused on our own agenda, our own goals that we forget to take time to verify if we are doing "what is right" for the client.

Becoming wealthy can be quite a noble venture-- especially when the one becoming wealthy plans on using that wealth to assist others. But, gaining wealth my dishonesty, or any other means of compromising ones character, does not justify the end result.

An example of living on target for integrity's sake is : Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie became America's richest immigrated citizen after years and years of hard work. At age 65 he sold his company and devoted his remaining years to giving away his wealth. He funded the building of over 2,000 libraries within the English speaking world. Carnegie gave away somewhere close to $350 million total to those needing various forms of assistance.

One reason I like Andrew Carnegie: he was honest about hard work. He was once interviewed and asked if he had ever had a clue his life would turn out the way that it had. His response was something to the effect that had he known all that lay before him -- he might never have been able to get up on any given day. BUT you see-- he did get up. And he did what was before him each and everyday, for the right reasons and to the best of his ability.

Again, integrity means doing the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do.