Integrity: A Reflection of Our Source

Ms. ArchitaV. Malge

(avmalge@coe.sveri.ac.in)

Assistant Professor,

SVERI’s College of Engineering, Pandharpur

 

A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued, “I am going to give each one of you a seed today – one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

One man, named Ramesh was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Ramesh kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Ramesh didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by -still nothing in Ramesh’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ramesh didn’t say anything to his colleagues; however, he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil. He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year went by and the CEO asked the young executives to bring their plants to work for inspection.

When Ramesh told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot, she asked him to be honest about what happened. Ramesh felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.

When Ramesh arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful – in all shapes and sizes. Ramesh put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Ramesh just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Ramesh at the back of the room with his empty pot. He asked Ramesh to come to the front of the room. Ramesh was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”

When Ramesh got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Ramesh told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Ramesh. He looked at Ramesh, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer - Ramesh!”

Ramesh couldn’t believe it. Ramesh couldn’t even grow his seed. “How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow.

“All of you, except Ramesh, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ramesh was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

With this beautiful story we can understand integrity. There is a beautiful saying which is used frequently by those who spend time in the forests,”Take only memories and leave only footprints”. It is applicable for we people too, who are survive in crowd with their loyalty towards their life. When loyalty comes we have think about integrity.

#Now what is integrity?

I posed the question to some people who, to me are inspirational in the way they have upheld this value in their lives. ‘Integrity’ itself is a deceptively simple word which its most commonly understood as a variant of honesty a deeper examination reveals that ‘integrity’ is often delicate balancing act between upholding one’s principles and responding skillfully to the Situation on hand.

On a professional level integrity is adhering to the book of law, whileon a personal level it means practicing the morals one preaches. It is true that integrity alone won’t make you leader but without integrity you cannot become leader. If you say” I have integrity”, if you say, I am moral you should say it from your heart, from your stomach. Your values should be very closeto your heart. Integrity is also using hardships for personal growth. It is letting go of one’s judgement and respecting others people’s views. It is having a clear understanding of one’s higher purpose.

One of the most striking things about people of integrity is their comfort with themselves. Their clarity and self assuredness are impossible to ignore. They don’t mould themselves differently to be perceived a certain way by certain people. Although they can come across as unassuming, even self-effacing, deep inside they are sure of their value. Deep self respect is the backbone of integrity.

 

Reference books:

1. Magic of thinking big (David J. Schwartz.)

2. Seven habits of highly effective people (Stephen Covey)

3. Life positive (Journal)