You have a choice in the kind of market economy you participate in.
The type of economy you inhabit, as a customer and/or as a business, is yours to define. If you imagine a different kind of market society, and a different way of valuing the world, you have the opportunity to shape it. You are contributing to an integrity-driven economy each time you allow your values to drive your decisions.
Too often though, we betray our values when we find ourselves overcome by money pressures. In these moments, we see our integrity as a cost. But the true cost is acting on our price/profit-motivations, as we can make short-sighted choices that prove far more costly in the long-term.
Profit-driven markets and businesses create a deeply flawed system for valuing the world.
They promote the false promise that profit-driven markets point to true value. And that our economy is driven by profit, not needs.
Alternatively, value-driven markets and businesses, shape an economy based on integrity, and create a sustainable system for valuing the world. They use a wealth creation strategy comprised of investing in the long-term growth of the business, and their stakeholders.
Choose to value the world in a different and sustainable way.
Shape your economy of integrity by:
-
Focusing on your customers
-
Creating value
-
Acting with integrity
Think long and hard about your customer and the experience your customer is getting. The experience of working with your business, and the feelings that experience creates in your clients, is your brand. Your integrity shines through in every experience the client has with your business. Your brand is your shorthand way of communicating your integrity.
Building a relationship of trust, however, can’t be one-sided, it’s based not only on what your company does, but also on what your customers do. As Dale Carnegie said, “give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.” Create opportunities for your customers to show their integrity and for you to consistently show yours.
When you do your best on behalf of the customer, and trust that the customer will do their best on behalf of you, you can create something lasting and valuable.
Think long and hard if you are creating products and/or services that create lasting value for your clients. If you are, understand that you aren’t selling commodities, and stop treating them that way. You are creating something truly distinctive. Something completely unique.
What people value they will pay for. If you focus on your customers, and the unique value you can create for them, your business can be a mini-monopoly with customers willing to pay for the brand they trust. You are the only you.
Think long and hard if you are nurturing and protecting your integrity in every decision you make. It is your most valuable wealth creation tool. Invest in it. Consistently make choices that support it.
Each decision you make, business or not, is an investment in your wealth creation. With every choice, consider what economy you want to participate in and act accordingly. You can fight for a different type of business world.
This post is inspired by Anna Bernasek’s book, The Economics of Integrity
photo credit: mtungate
