​​​​Christopher Sopko

You can probably imagine that the first characteristic in my pyramid, “integrity” is the most important item on my list and you would be right. 

Displaying integrity on a day to day basis is a critical pillar in building a successful business.  The term is often used interchangeably with the word honesty, but unfortunately this is a mistake.  It is important to recognize that you can be honest and not display integrity, but you cannot display integrity without being honest.

Many very popular organizations today clearly identify that their products are manufactured in extremely poor countries like Bangladesh, which is certainly very honest.  In my opinion, however, they are not displaying much integrity when one realizes the often times deplorable working conditions and the paultry, slave-like wages these people get paid.

For most of us the concept and importance of being honest goes back to our earliest formative years.  As a child, George Washington and his famous cherry tree was one of the first stories I remember hearing even though historians ironically tell us that it never really happened.  For a variety of reasons, it was drummed into me at an early age that it was extremely important to be honest.  Although I am not perfect I try to live my life with this as part of my guiding principles. 

Unfortunately, not everyone got the same message as we are reminded on a seemingly daily basis of the business scams and crooks that do nothing but prey on the good nature or gullibility of others.  I do not want to focus on the negative, but how to develop and maintain a successful business over the long haul and the cornerstone of it all is to continually act with honesty and integrity.