Frank J. Navran - Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics

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of their purchase, realize all of the potentialvalue, and reminded that their patronage isappreciated. They leave feeling better for theexperience. They feel good about the purchase.They feel good about the interaction,if for no reason other than it was better thanit might have been had they gone somewhereelse for the same product or service. Thosebecome loyal customers. The research suggeststhat they will deliberately drive pastseveral competitors to get back to you becauseyou make the process more than merelypleasant. You make it about them. Level IIIcustomers become loyal customers. And, onaverage, brag to eight others about how smartthey were to do business with you.As a consultant focused on ethics and leadership,Scotts’ model played two roles in thematuring of my practice. The obvious first levelis that Scott taught me important lessons abouthow I need to treat my clients in order to earntheir loyalty. I continually try to apply thoselessons, and my customer repeat rate suggeststhat I am somewhat successful in doing so. Thesecond is the realization that, given my focuson organizational ethics, customer service is an“ethical model.” It builds on the notion of integrity.It builds on the concept of keeping andexceeding one’s promises—whether explicit orimplicit, contractual or understood—irrespectiveof their legal enforceability.In the majority of my ethics work, we findintegrity to be an issue. Integrity is almostalways either directly or implicitly a core valueof my clients’ organizations. It is understood ascontributing to trustworthiness. It is the fulfillingof promises. It is the expectation that onewill do what they say what they will do, everytime, without fail, without compromise, reliably,predictably, and to the best of their ability.It is an expectation I foster in my clients in twodirections: an expectation of how they shouldlook for me to act, and a strong recommendationregarding how they should act towards others.A significant number of my clients arepeople who have formal assigned responsibilitiesfor the management of an ethics initiative,or some portion thereof, within their organizations.Many of these people either report toor carry the title of ethics officer or ethics andcompliance officer. Some have legal training.Others are from the Human Resources field.And many are from staff or line managementpositions with limited or no formal training inethics as it applies to organizational managementor effectiveness.Irrespective of their background or levelwithin the organization, these ethics andcompliance officers have some things incommon. Most frequently they are taskedwith responsibilities for communicating theethical standards of the organization, ensuringthat employees are both aware of andcapable of meeting those standards, anddealing with those occasional circumstanceswhere the standards are either disregardedor violated.For line managers to be successful, thefunction they represent must be trusted by theemployees they are tasked to oversee and bythe leadership who are ultimately responsiblefor the end results. Going back to the earlierobservation that trust is the residue of promisesfulfilled, it is useful to ask, “What are theexplicit and implicit promises of an EthicsOffice?” I would suggest that the single mostsignificant promise is integrity.The word “integrity” is derived from thesame root as the word “integer.” In mathematics,an integer is a whole number, a thingcomplete within itself. Integrity has to dowith “wholeness.” Bringing this conversationback to Earth, we can simply say that integrityis the basis for trust. It is the belief that youwill get what you expect, and you will getall of what you expect. The promises that aremade will be kept. Thus trust, the residue ofpromises fulfilled, is the product of integrity.Compliance & Ethics Professional July/August 2012+1 952 933 4977 or 888 277 4977 www.corporatecompliance.org 59
Compliance & Ethics Professional July/August 2012I’ve come to believe over the past 40 years inbusiness that trust is the single most powerfuland significant commodity. If I am not trusted,you’ll only do business with me under duress.If I am trusted, you will seek out the opportunityto do business with me if and when theproduct or service I provide meets a need. Asan internal manager who provides staff servicesto a captive audience, I was never told thatmy goal was to build trust in my function andin me, but it was. As an external resource, I didnot need to be told that my goal was to buildtrust with clients if I was to be successful bothin the short-term and in the long run. I hadalready learned that lesson. Ultimately what Isell is trust, and trust presupposes integrity. Ifmy clients do not believe I have integrity—thatI will meet or exceed all expectations and keepall promises—they will not trust me and willnot continue to be my clients.ROI—Return on Investment—is a result.It is measured and monitored as an indicatorof a business’s success. It is an indicator ofeconomic success.ROI—Return on Integrity—is also a result.It is perhaps more difficult to measure andmonitor but, in my experience, is an even moresignificant indicator of a business’s success. ThisROI is a long-term indicator of economic successto come. If you individually (as a function or asa company) are trusted, you will be more successful,all things being equal, than if you arenot trusted. For my colleagues in the business,for those with internal ethics management andleadership responsibilities, and for those whoare held to and/or hold themselves to high ethicalstandards, integrity is not an option. It is aprecondition for everything we do.Integrity is not a short-term indicator. It is alifelong pattern of a behavior and perceptions.It contributes to our individual and collectivesuccess in every aspect of our lives including,but not limited to, business. My simple propositionis that nothing matters more to you as aperson, as an employee, as a leader, as an example,than the integrity you demonstrate and thatyou instill in and require of those around you.It doesn’t matter if you are the chairmanof the board, a member of the board, aninhabitant of the C-suite, a manager, a leader,or an employee. Your integrity defines you.Integrity is the basis for whatever success youwill achieve, whatever respect you will earn,and whatever impact you will have on thosearound you. If you keep your focus on integrity,it may not guarantee your success. Doingyour job well will guarantee your success. Afocus on integrity will contribute to that successin that people will know that they cantrust you, trust what you say to be true, andtrust the promises you make will be kept.With integrity, you have laid the groundworkfor trust. People will believe that you willkeep your promises and do what you do as wellas you are able. And you will do all this, irrespectiveof job title, job responsibilities, level, orany other tangible aspect of your work.There is no greater investment you canmake in your own personal success, and thatof those you lead or the company you serve,than to bring the highest levels of integrity tothe work you do. For that reason, I propose thatROI be understood to mean Return on Integrity.It is time to overthrow Return on Investmentas the supreme goal. Return on investment is anatural byproduct of an organization and leaderswithin that organization who operate froma base of integrity in pursuit of their goals. Thebottom line is simply the bottom line. It is thegoal. Integrity is the path. Integrity is King.Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!, The King is dead.Long live the King. Long live integrity! ✵1. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_is_dead._Long_live_the_King2. www.squarewheels.comFrank J. Navran (frank @ navran.com) is the Founder and PrincipalConsultant of Navran Associates. Frank has worked with clients in morethan twenty countries and has authored five books and more than twohundred articles and book chapters.60 www.corporatecompliance.org +1 952 933 4977 or 888 277 4977
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