The Water Trough- We can't make you drink, but we will make you think!
The Water Trough- We can't make you drink, but we will make you think!
Navigating Integrity in Business: Your Journey, Your Choice
Navigating integrity isn't just about doing business right; it's about doing business *your* way. Tune in as Ed Drozda, the Small Business Doctor discusses the vital role of personal values in entrepreneurship. #BusinessValues #Leadership
Welcome to The Water Trough, where we can't make you drink, but we will make you think. My name is Ed Drozda, the Small Business Doctor, and I'm really excited you chose to join me here as we discuss topics that are important for small business folks just like you. If you're looking for ideas, inspiration, and possibility, you've come to the right place. Join us as we take steps to help you create the healthy business that you've always wanted.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone):Welcome back to the water trough. This is Ed draws to the small business doctor on this, the inauguration day for the 47th president of the United States. And on this day, I, like, nearly 50 percent of the country and not feeling very enthusiastic. I am, in fact, feeling very uncomfortable. I have a great deal of apprehension about what is to come in the next 4 years and. Perhaps beyond, but this is not a political story that I'm about to tell. It's not a political conversation. I'm looking to have here, but rather a conversation about you in small business and what your position is on integrity and your own character in the conduct of your business. I realize that it's hard to separate the two of these things and not sound as if this is a political statement. I do not have issues with the potential for what this president might do for the United States. I have issues with the individual, with his character. And I cannot reconcile those things with my own That is why I am compelled to have this conversation today with those of you who choose to listen. I've always felt that integrity begins with me. That is, that my understanding of myself, my approximation of my life events with my values is the basis for the integrity. That I develop and that I display when it comes to integrity in business, I firmly believe, that people should be fully. In this manner, we, the persons who purchase from them, work with them, and so on and so forth, know what we're getting. We're aware of what we're getting. There's no smoke and mirrors. Things are straightforward. Now I realize that it's not always quite so simple as that. There's always going to be some degree of conversation that is designed to mask certain aspects of our own persona or the things that are going on in our business. As humans, regretfully or not, we can't avoid those things.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-2:Rest assured, perfection is not a human trait.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-1:and so with that in mind, integrity does come with a variety of conditions, But I think when we put our best intentions forward, when our values are So it's not simply to serve ourselves, but to also serve those with whom we engage that we are as close as possible to working with integrity. This to me is critical. It's not reasonable for me to condemn others who do things differently than me, who see things differently than me, but it does. agitate me. It does make it very difficult for me. I know that selectively there are people with whom I will not be able to engage. And the reasons for this typically revolve around values. People who do not approximate my values, are very difficult for me to understand. Now, in an ideal situation, an ideal world, there'd be conversations around those things, and we could discuss why we have differences in values. But that's not something that we do anymore. We're beyond that Unfortunately, now it's my way or the highway, and that's as far as it goes for those of us in business. We then have the option of who. To have as our audience and an audience can consist of the people to whom we sell our goods and services, the people with whom we engage, i. e. our networking and our community, our suppliers and so on and so forth,
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-3:To take it 1 step further. It's critical in business that we have the capacity. To engage with our audience members and it's important also to identify the fact that perhaps sometimes we're not able to do. So a number of things come to mind. about the businesses that will not serve others for various reasons, among which might be same sex marriage and things of that sort. A profoundly divisive sort of circumstance, but fundamentally one that violates the values of
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-4:Certain people and leaves them in a position where they can't effectively serve a particular clientele.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-3:Now, I cannot and I do not at all advocate for those sorts of values, but I
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-5:Accept that values such as these, can, and do, exist.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-3:And I think it's important for business people to appreciate that those things result in blatant biases. These blatant biases effectively reduce our ability to be effective business people. I think it's reasonable to say that if I'm fundamentally out of character with my values that those blatant biases will prevent me from being a business person who's working in integrity.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-7:This leads to a lot of questions, a lot of head scratching as far as I'm concerned. How important are my values? How important is their relation to my character and the way that I present myself and my business? In other words, how important is integrity to me in my business? I think it's fair to say that most of us would consider integrity to be an integral part of our construct. And for those of us for whom it is that way, This brings a lot of things forward to think about. It's not just simply enough to go about doing what we do and doing it well. It's about doing so in a Manner that we feel good about.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-9:You've heard the old saying, How can you possibly sleep at night? Well, then also consider the corollary. I can sleep at night.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-10:Because I feel good about what I do. I'm confident that I'm doing the right thing.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-7:So I hope you'll take some time to think about the things that I've mentioned here. I admit, it's a little bit deeper, a little bit more, perhaps, grating.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Microphone)-8:Maybe even more so at this present time in our development as a country and as individuals. But I hope you'll give it consideration. I think that there's something to be said for integrity personally, and I challenge you to decide for yourself what it means to you to define how that will play out in your business. And to use that as a guide as to how you conduct your business as well. This is Ed Draws to the Small Business Doctor, and until we meet again here at the Watertroff, I want to wish you a healthy business.