Quotes About Integrity

Never tell a lie when you can tell the truth. The truth isn't always the safest course, but mostly it is.

Henry did not want to be fixed, was somehow convinced that the fix would be a lie, something that would lessen him.

Greed in a good cause is still greed.

And always let your conscience be your guide." —Blue Fairy

She had grown up knowing you cared for the one who had fallen and couldn't get up. She had also grown up knowing you ate no shit - not about your hosses, your size, your line of work, or your sexual preferences. Once you started eating shit, it had a way of becoming your regular diet.

the most basic rule of human discourse: when someone says they're going to be honest with you, they are in most cases preparing to lie faster than a horse can trot.

The day I start hanging out with that bunch of half-starved mix-n-match sluts will be the day I crawl up my own ass and die!

My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." In

The man who in times of popular excitement boldly and unflinchingly resists hot-tempered clamor for an unnecessary war, and thus exposes himself to the opprobrious imputation of a lack of patriotism or of courage, to the end of saving his country from a great calamity, is, as to 'loving and faithfully serving his country,' at least as good a patriot as the hero of the most daring feat of arms," Schurz

It would be a shame if the public uproar forced us to go beyond, and to damage the integrity of the CIA," Ford said. "I automatically assume what you did was right unless it's proven otherwise." That amounted to an assurance that, if at all possible, Helms would be shielded from accountability for the CIA's actions on his watch.

Much of their data was unique because it could come only from experiments in which human beings were made to suffer or die. That made Blome a valuable target—but a target for what? Justice cried out for his punishment. From a U.S. Army base in Maryland, however, came an audaciously contrary idea: instead of hanging Blome, let's hire him.

Americans have always been idealists. They want their country to act for pure motives

Stephen Kinzer

our birth before we die, becoming truly whole rather than just appearing to "have it together"—is more difficult.

A humble person is more concerned about what is right than about being right, about acting on good ideas than having the ideas, about embracing new truth than defending outdated position, about building the team than exalting self, about recognizing contribution than being recognized for making it.

And it all boils down to two simple questions: 1) Do I trust myself? and 2) Am I someone others can trust? With regard to having trust in self, it often begins with the little things.

It's been my experience that the people who gain trust, loyalty, excitement, and energy fast are the ones who pass on the credit to the people who have really done the work. A leader doesn't need any credit. . . . He's getting more credit than he deserves anyway. —ROBERT TOWNSEND, FORMER CEO, AVIS

A commit gives hope. Following through that commitment builds trust

A counterfeit manifestation of clarifying expectations is to create "smoke and mirrors"—to give lip service to clarifying expectations, but to fail to pin down specifics like results, deadlines, or dollars that facilitate meaningful accountability.

Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless. —WARREN BUFFETT

he always tried to start off by "declaring himself." That meant he told them who he was, what mattered to him, and how he approached leadership and work. He told them about his goals for the company and for the relationship. He explained not only his what but especially his why.

Having spent many years trying to define the essentials of trust, I arrived at the position that if two people could say two things to each other and mean them, then there was the basis for real trust. The two things were "I mean you no harm" and "I seek your greatest good." —JIM MEEHAN, BRITISH PSYCHOLOGIST AND POET

while high trust won't necessarily rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always derail a good one.

Leadership is a choice, not a position.