The fruits of integrity: Trust, influence, repeat business

Each of us, as we go about our daily lives, has opportunity after opportunity to make the right choice, John Johnson told audience at the Spark 2008 IT Invitational conference this fall. Living with integrity encompasses deliberate decision-making in all aspects of one's life, he stressed, including relationships and business. Johnson is chief information officer for the popular P.F. Chang's China Bistro chain of restaurants.

John Johnson, chief information officer for the popular P.F. Chang's China Bistro chain of restaurants, was in Uganda volunteering on a construction project benefiting low-income kids, and he needed to buy some handsaws. He and a fellow executive-turned-carpenter stopped by a nearby hardware store, where they expected to pay more than a local person would pay for the same tool.

"Ugandans use the word 'mazungu' as a common term for a white person. It's not derogatory, just an identification of foreigners, not from around here," Johnson explained. "And mazungus don't know the local markets or current prices for things, and the Ugandans know that and take advantage of them."

The store owner, a woman in her early 50's who spoke imperfect English, walked up to Johnson, looked directly in his face, then said, "I see with my eyes a mazungu, but in my heart, that's not what I see." Recalling the powerful moment, Johnson said, "It gave me chills. Then she said, 'I am going to give you a fair price' for the handsaws, and she did."

"This is my definition of integrity," he said. Johnson shared the anecdote while addressing the Spark 2008 IT Invitational this fall. The event was hosted by the W. P. Carey School's Center for Advancing Business through Information Technology. More than 2,000 students interested in IT careers participated.

Integrity is deliberate

"Did she have a right to take advantage of me? Charging extra to foreigners is common. It's also easy for me to pay the extra cost. But she gave me a fair price, because she believed that was the right thing to do; it was important to her to conduct business this way," he explained.

Each of us, as we go about our daily lives, has opportunity after opportunity to make the right choice, Johnson told audience members. He emphasized that living with integrity encompassing deliberate decision-making in all aspects of one's life, including relationships and business.

Then he related another anecdote, this one with a different ending. While vacationing in Mazatlan, Mexico, Johnson and his wife took a taxi to an area of town where tourists usually don't go. He offered the taxi driver the return fare, and made arrangements to be picked up at 3 p.m. to return to their hotel.

The taxi driver agreed, apparently happily, then raced off with Johnson's gear still in the back seat. Of course, he didn't return for the Johnsons at 3 p.m. "Something just didn't seem right when I was walking around the taxi. I had just enough time to grab my backpack, but not my cell phone. So he only got my cell phone, but I still felt bad," he continued.

With the Ugandan store owner, landing his repeat business was a snap because she developed trust with Johnson, her customer. Not so, with the taxi driver. The difference responses created by the two transactions show why students heading into the workplace should deliberately cultivate their own integrity.

The fruits of integrity

Johnson described three "fruits" of integrity. The first is trust. Behaving with integrity builds trust among the people you are dealing with. Behaving without integrity builds distrust. He asked the students, "which will benefit you more?" Another crucial point: if trust with someone is broken — a spouse, a co-worker, a friend — it will time and effort to rebuild it. "When you operate without integrity, you waste time," he added.

A second fruit of integrity is influence. Integrity creates reputation and sparks imitation; without it, you lack the ability to influence others and events. Influence is essential whether you want to be the leader of a high-impact Web 2.0 company or a political candidate campaigning for reform, Johnson explained.

This is especially relevant to those currently in their teens and twenties, because recent research indicates these "millennials" or "generation Y" members may share a strong interest in community service, recycling, political reform, technological advances, global politics and other change-the-world agendas.

"Without influence, how are you going to create much change? I am highly optimistic that you, our next generation of leaders, will have confidence and high impact, and that is why I am talking about integrity and influence," he said. Make decisions that build trust, and as the years pass, you'll enjoy deepening influence, Johnson added.

The third fruit of integrity is repeat business. Whether you work in the services industry or manufacturing, acting with integrity almost always translates into more business from satisfied customers, their families, friends, co-workers, neighbors and on and on.

Johnson shared another anecdote, this one illuminating the difference between being honest and actually acting with integrity. A family came into P.F. Chang's for dinner to celebrate the daughter's 16th birthday. Somehow, during the celebratory evening, the birthday girl lost a birthday card that contained $50 cash.

Her mom called P.F. Chang's once they got home and couldn't find the card. Employees searched the restaurant and the card — with cash intact — was found on the floor next to the dishwashing station. The relieved mom said she'd pick up the card in a few days, when she next planned to be in that part of town.

But the restaurant manager started thinking about what it was like to be 16 years old and have a $50 bill in one's hand. Knowing how exciting that was, and how disappointed she might be at having to wait a few days to get her gift, the manager made another call to the family's home.

He offered to drive the card to their home after closing the restaurant for the night. It was a half hour out of his way, "but he delivered on his promise and hand-delivered that card," Johnson said. "In terms of repeat business, do you think this family is now P.F. Chang's customers for life?"

Johnson admits that always behaving with integrity can be difficult. As he said, "we all screw up in life. But how you react to each screw-up is important. You can bury it, learn from it, move on or live with it. Just remember that you have a choice, every day, and that choice will determine if you change the world with your influence."

Bottom line: John Johnson on integrity

• Living with integrity encompassing deliberate decision-making in all aspects of one's life, including relationships and business.
• Trust is the key to repeat business, and behaving with integrity builds trust.
• Integrity creates reputation and sparks imitation; without it, you lack the ability to influence others and events.
• When you make a mistake, it's your choice what you do next. "You can bury it, learn from it, move on or live with it. Just remember that you have a choice, every day, and that choice will determine if you change the world with your influence."