Originally published on LinkedIn · August 2017.
My brain is hurting from this question, born out of my teaching on Absolute Integrity and my curiosity about how a person can objectively evaluate the integrity of organizations, people, and roles they encounter — and yes, I am a fraud investigator. I am far from perfect here. There are just so many things going on in the world that I keep coming back to the same common theme: a lack of integrity.
The Problem
You know those companies, organizations, and people that make your skin crawl — because you know they lack integrity or transparency and you would love to publicly call them out. Sometimes it’s easy. Other times it’s very hard. Here are some examples:
- The author or publisher of a news article that does not meet the Journalism Code of Ethics
- The physician financially influenced by their suppliers (which is why financial disclosure websites exist)
- The company with the 6-point font disclaimer at the bottom, or the fast-talking voiceover at the end of the commercial
- The politician who may need to re-read their own Code of Official Conduct
- The person who calls themselves a “pastor” or “minister” but knowingly does not walk in integrity and transparency
Current Options for Measuring Integrity
I have not found an internationally accepted standard, but there are some resources worth considering:
- BBB, D&B, FICO, Charity Navigator
- Wikipedia “Criticism” and “Controversies” sections
- Trust Across America research by Barbara Brooks Kimmel — 1,000 companies surveyed; average trust score: 59; only 105 scored above 70; 180 scored below 50. That means 895 companies had the equivalent of a D grade.
- International travel has taught me that integrity can mean different things in different cultures — MNCs must adapt
- Ask for a company’s Code of Conduct or Code of Ethics before doing business with them — the same way you ask for a license or insurance certificate
My Challenge — to Myself and to You
Board of Directors
- Ask great and hard questions about trust, integrity, and transparency
- Add a trust/integrity grade question to your regular employee surveys and customer NPS studies
- Require your organization to publish its integrity and transparency weaknesses and a plan to fix them
- Ban 6-point font and fast talkers
- Define at what level of integrity violation disciplinary action or termination is triggered
Operationally
- Evaluate everything you do, print, produce, and say using a trust/integrity/transparency framework
- List every ingredient
- Go beyond government regulations for disclosures — absolute integrity and appropriate transparency is a higher bar than “compliant”
Personally
- Write up your personal credo of Absolute Integrity. Share it with your spouse, your kids, and an accountability partner. Ask them to hold you to it.
- Work on the courage to “raise your hand,” “flip tables,” or write great letters when you know there is a lack of integrity or necessary transparency
- Do you teach your kids about integrity and transparency? Without using words?
My question to you: what are your specific, measurable ideas for publicly tracking the integrity and appropriate transparency of a company, non-profit, or individual in a business context?