DISCURSOS - Rotary International

We have always lived by our core values, the roots of the Rotary tree that make its branches
spread far and wide and strong, through its more than 34,000 clubs. It is a big tree and growing
bigger.
Let me change gears a bit. While fellowship and diversity are our strengths, what really characterizes
Rotarians is our focus on integrity, our commitment to high ethical standards in our businesses
and professions, the morality and the values we uphold. I believe we do this better than any
other organization, through our Avenue of Vocational Service. No other organization highlights this
more than we do. I believe it is important that Rotarians serve as role models in our communities,
and that must start with each one of us here in this room. The high standards we set — and
the level to which we follow them — determine our credibility.
I have often cited Gandhi’s story about the time he was in jail in the city of Nagpur in India. His
wife, Kasturba, was allowed to see him once a week for one hour, when he would be brought
out of his cell and allowed to meet her in a demarcated area. On one occasion, a new jail warden,
out of respect for Gandhi’s privacy, left the two of them alone so that they could talk. But when
he returned, there was Gandhi, holding his wife’s hand but not uttering a word. The jailer was
perplexed. “Is anything wrong, Mr. Gandhi?” he asked. “Are you OK?” Gandhi smiled and said,
“My dear man, you know the jail rules better than I. Prisoners are not supposed to talk to another
person unless an official is present. How do you expect me to break the rules?”
Was Gandhi being foolish? Impractical? Maybe. Following the righteous path may sometimes
look foolish and impractical, particularly in the short term. But we all know that, in the long run,
we can only weaken our society if we compromise on principles and values, whether legal or
moral. And make ourselves very vulnerable, too.
At a recent graduation ceremony at the Indian School of Business in Bangalore, the speaker
urged the graduates to remember: Ethical behavior may seem difficult at times, even foolish, but
if you compromise on ethics and integrity and doing what is right, I assure you that you will not
go too far in your careers. The best way forward is to apply the highest standard of morality to
your lives, and if you sometimes face a challenge, don’t change the standards but try to change
your lives.
Well, that speaker was certainly a Rotarian in spirit. We need to be always promoting the best
practices in business as Rotarians, and be seen to be doing so, and it has to start with all of us
here, in this room this morning.
Integrity in life and in business is what started us in the first place. And fellowship and diversity
are what bond us all together. But the main thing, the point of why we are here, why we all stay
together in our clubs and in Rotary, has to be our work. It has to be the service, the difference we
are making, whether we are working locally in our own communities or are engaged in bringing
the whole world together — clubs and districts and governments and nongovernmental organizations
and UN agencies and everyone else — to eradicate a disease from the earth, for example.
Over the past few minutes, I have been talking about our core values and about service, because
everything we do in Rotary as Rotarians and as the leaders that you are has to be based
on these, and has to be based on trust. If you take all the qualities of a great leader and you sum
them up in one word, that’s what that word would be: trust.
You know that whatever happens, great leaders are not going to take more than their share of
the credit or less than their share of the blame.
If you go to them with a problem, they’ll be ready — and willing — to help. They’re not there to
judge or criticize, they’re there to help you see the problem more clearly so that you can see it
through.
40 International Assembly Speeches 2013