From www.Dictionary.com, the word "integrity" means:
| 1. | adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. |
| 2. | the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire. |
| 3. | a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull. |
Looking at the first definition only and then PAYING ATTENTION to several online businesses, I have to ask, has the definition changed?
For example, one online business recently promoted that there were only X number of a physical product available so "get it before we run out".
Subsequent emails trying to get us to buy and showing how many more were sold (plus other calls the business owner was on pitching the product), added up to almost double the original "get 'em before we're sold out" quantity.
The issue for me — aside from the blatant untruths — is that this business owner, like so many others out there, preaches and teaches the concept of integrity. It's become a case of "do what I say, not what I do".
This is just one example, I could easily cite many more.
You could ask, so who's being hurt by the above scenario…particularly if it's a good product/service/whatever and has the potential to help many people.
My answer is simple: All of us.
After all, there are better, more honest ways of doing business and if someone is willing to lie (let's stop dancing and call it what it is) about something as small as "how many widgets" they have to sell, what about the bigger things?
I'd love to hear your thoughts as I have some pretty strong opinions around this topic and I know they may not resonate with everyone.