in·teg·ri·ty

/inˈteɡrədē/ noun

the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
The state of being whole and undivided

I’d like to tell you about my friend, Karl Eller.

Karl started an outdoor billboard company in his early career and built it into a billion-dollar business. After this tremendous success, he started a new venture as the CEO of Circle K convenience stores. Within the seven years of his leadership, annual sales more than quadrupled to nearly $3.5 billion. Then came the unexpected - Circle K filed for bankruptcy.

With bills that the company could no longer afford to pay, he returned to what he knew best: outdoor advertising. Once again, thanks to his hard work and dedication, he built a tremendously successful business and was able to pay back every vendor owed. He did the right thing and showed up for those who were relying on him.

In my mind, living up to commitments is one of the most important aspects of our integrity. If we say we are going to show up, we don’t just show up - we get there 15 minutes early. We show that we respect and value the time that others are giving us and hold ourselves accountable to giving them every ounce of our attention.This can be hard! But if we lose that trust, we lose everything. This can, and should, be applied to both our professional and personal lives.

Integrity is all we got. Show up for your collaborators, your mentors, your friends, your students, your employees, and your family. Get there early. Listen. Make it a pattern, without exception, and you will inspire others to do the same.

Let’s make it a great week and look forward to making the world a better place.