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 | The following is a true story shared by a close client friend and successful newspaper publisher. As you read the story, you'll be introduced to two leaders; one who compromised his integrity in the pursuit of success, and the other – my close friend – who has achieved true personal and professional significance by refusing to compromise his character. What Price Success? "When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost." – Billy Graham A colleague doing coursework for an MBA had to interview two business acquaintances on the topic of "business ethics" and how ethics may have affected their careers and lives. I do not know the other person he interviewed, but I do know we both had long careers as newspaper publishers. To summarize, I told him that I believe a person must be ethical at all times, in all situations, or they are not truly an ethical person. My belief is you cannot be ethical only when it fits the moment; personal character and integrity are the foundation of who we are and guide us to be ethical in everything we do; no compromises allowed when it comes to our ethics, regardless of the situation. I was further queried about whether I might have progressed farther in my career had I not been as ethical. While that possibly might have been the case, I believe those type of gains would only yield short-term rewards. Instead, I explained that I am content with myself and my career. I believe my employees and my community recognize and appreciate the fact that I am a person of strong character and that I can always be expected to maintain the highest ethical standards with anything I am involved with. I am very comfortable with who I am, I'm able to sleep at night and I can hold my head up high wherever I go. He then told me about the other person he had interviewed for this assignment. It seems this publisher had actually acquired several publications early in his career, with money from his first wife's family. He was quickly very successful but he later had an affair with one of his employees, resulting in two split families. This publisher bragged about how he was a "leader" in his community because, if he wasn't consulted or included, it was known he would influence with positive or negative news coverage. He admitted that some of his growth was because he would give certain advertisers good deals or low rates in order to force their competing businesses to advertise with him. It often worked and the practice was repeated with other advertisers. He had little concern that his employee turnover was high; his monetary gains were more an indicator of success than employee turnover. He also felt the poor reputation his business had in the community was offset by the monetary contributions he made each year to many groups and organizations. After answering all of the questions and then hearing about the comments and philosophy of the other businessman, I was even more confident in my beliefs regarding character and ethics. Then, my friend asked one more question: "Can I use your name and company name with this report?" I replied, "Of course, that would be fine." My friend paused for a moment and then said, "Wow, the other guy wanted to make sure I DIDN'T use his name or company name." I replied, "I rest my case." In closing, I wanted to share the following words of wisdom from Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, "the softest pillow is a clear conscience." Integrity is a choice. It is consistently choosing the purity of truth over popularity. May you sleep well. Have a wonderFULL day! Your friend, 
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