Want Long-Term Success In Life And Business? Choose Integrity

It’s interesting to me how much we sometimes tend to overcomplicate life and business. I have always treated them as inseparable, mainly because I have never been a big fan of compartmentalizing business and life. Truthfully I have found that what works in one area of my life actually works really well in the other. And, I have found that what works for me is pretty simple, for the most part. It turns out the advice my mom and grandmother gave me still works just fine.

I have served on a NYSE company board since 2003. In that time I have had to make some big decisions that impact a lot of people’s lives, including my own. I have my own template that I have laid down over all of those decisions, and I have never compromised just to get along. Nor have I been asked to.

Books are written every day on the quest for success and how to find it. Algorithms and formulas are created and whole disciplines are formed. Industries are built around the latest and greatest sure-fire method to get there, wherever there is. That’s all well and good, but I’d like to share some things that have worked for me. No algorithms and no formulas. Just some good old fashioned horse sense. And, yes, they work anywhere, not just in the boardroom.

Make up your mind

I have always been taught that you had better make up your mind about what you will and won’t do BEFORE you’re in the situation. Once you’re there, it’s too late to ponder it. The pressure will likely cause you to make a bad judgement call. Play out the scenarios as best you can beforehand. Imagine yourself being asked to go along with each one. Could you do it? Is it right? Does it make you uneasy? Practice saying no to those things you are sure you cannot participate in. See yourself walking away and be comfortable with that decision.

Going along in the short term with things you are uncomfortable with almost never ends well. You’ll lose a lot of sleep. If the issue is a legal one, you might go to jail. Don’t sacrifice your peace of mind and your well-being to get along with anybody.

Be careful who you hang out with

There is a proverb that says ‘bad company corrupts good morals.’ Thankfully the opposite is also true. Great people can lift you to your highest heights. Choose wisely. I have been blessed to be on the Luby’s/Fuddrucker’s board with a team of the greatest and best people. We are like minded, and we have a deep commitment to doing what’s right. I figured that out about these people before I joined this board and got to work with them.

Sometimes it’s good to discriminate. Be circumspect. Pay attention to the signals that people send off when they are willing to do most anything to get somewhere. If you sense any of that, run away as fast as you can.

Be kind

There’s a misconception out there that being kind somehow equates to weakness. I have found that to be absolutely, unequivocally not true. In fact, in some ways, there is an obvious strength to the kind people that I know. Just like everybody, they go through things that might make them short tempered or they might even say something in haste that they wished they hadn’t. They are human, after all. But kind people know better, and their alarms go off when they make a misstep. They are strong enough to come back to anyone they may have offended and fix it. That’s not weakness. Not by any stretch.

Look, everybody has bad days where we don’t get it right. But, overall, kindness works everywhere.

Be humble

You can’t learn from others if you already think you know everything. I consider myself a reasonably bright person. I have two college degrees and decades of experience. But, I have to tell you, I learn new things every day. I’m lucky to be on a board with a group of really smart people who take the time to teach me what they know. I’m grateful for that.

I choose my friends and my business associates very carefully. I have long-term relationships with most of them, and I learn from them too. Humility is another one of those attributes that gets a bad rap. It can look like weakness until you see it at work. The Lion doesn’t have to prove himself or talk about how strong or amazing he is. Neither should you. Listen more. Recognize that the people around you have their own unique knowledge and gifts, and then let them impart what they know.

Do it now

My mother had a mantra: “Do it now.” When I find myself procrastinating about anything in my life, I can almost hear her saying it: “Do it now.”

So, what kind of things are you noodling with that really just need you to get going? Want to join a corporate board? There’s no time like the present. There are boards out there that need you. Want to start your own business? Why not do it now?