The Integrity Advantage: How Taking the High Road Creates a Competitive Advantage in Business

by Adrian Gostick, Dana Telford

Where are you right now?
The Integrity Advantage give you tools to take stock and to solidify or revamp the integrity in your business life.
"They'll tell you (with a wink) that these days, nice guys finish last. If that's what you've been hearing, may we respectfully suggest you're running with the wrong crowd. And we've got some folks we'd like you to meet," say Adrian Gostick, a respected business writer, and Dana Telford, a Harvard researcher.
Based on a year's worth of research--interviewing CEOs and top business leaders from across North America--The Integrity Advantage identifies ten characteristics that are consistently displayed by people with integrity. The authors then take you through a four-step process to determine your integrity level and help you enhance your reputation for ethical behavior.

Genres: Business

110 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 2003

About the author

See also Adrian Robert Gostick

Reviews

[Jeff Lampson]

A nice, simple and relatively light read referred to me at a Limited Brands HR Community Day as we focused on values. The core premise is that taking the high road creates competitive advantage in business.

Part two is very clear in delineating the characteristics of integrity little things count, trust, keeping commitments, working toward the greater good, honesty, humility, etc. It has a lot of good examples from executives in typically well regarded companies and inspires to demonstrate integrity from a business sense as well as from the personal rewards of living with integrity such as being able to sleep at night and look at yourself in the mirror.

[Sarah]

The theme of this book is 5-star. I really like the message but it was a little drawn out for how much you learn. It says that 10 characteristics of integrity are:

1. You know that little things count
2. You find the white
3. You mess up, you 'fess up
4. You create a culture of trust
5. You keep your word
6. You care about the greater good
7. You're honest but modest
8. You act like you're being watched
9. You hire integrity
10. You stay the course

Now you don't have to read the book!

[John]

This brief guide to understanding integrity - both professional and personal - should be required reading in every business course in high school and college. The subjects raised in this book are often overlooked or brushed aside as inconsequential in today's society, yet we see more and more frequently how making proper ethical choices can make or break a company when things go wrong.

[J Baruffi]

This book gives 10 principles which will help the reader NOT only substantially in business but life as well. The integrity advantage is a character building book that if living by will create success in all aspects of life.

[Andrew Carretto]

Good weekend read. Short book but really good principles. It was interesting to read viewpoints from 2003 (when the book was written) CEO's knowing how each of those companies are doing today.