“Honesty is the best policy.”
–Benjamin Franklin
“Honesty is the best policy—when there is money in it.”
–Mark Twain
“Honesty is the best policy. Unless, of course, you’re posting a Facebook profile picture”.
–Anonymous
According to Dr. Thomas Stanley who wrote the Millionaire Mind, honesty and integrity are the most critical success factors according to the millionaires who filled out self-evaluations.
Self-evaluations.
Right.
According to my self-evaluation, I am athletic and extremely tall and thin. So, self-opinions are not always reliable or accurate.
Still, any time you get a nearly unanimous opinion you have to check it out. And in this case, it matters. If you want financial success, is it important to be honest? The financially successful say so. Does that mean they are right?
Honesty and integrity matter A LOT. It is hard to retire early or achieve financial success without those qualities.
But…there are some qualifiers.
For instance, you may have guessed that I am skeptical of certain subsets of the rich. A study published in Psychological Science showed that many reacted little to suffering and lacked empathy. I hope those who follow MMH can do better.
This apparent lack of compassion does not bode well for a truly honest lifestyle. Still, we are comparing compassion to honesty, and those are not the same thing.
So, what about honesty in the corporate boardroom instead? According to a study by Nathan Brooks (2016) and two others, fully 21 percent of American corporate senior managers are psychopaths. Again, according to the same source, that number compares to only one percent of the general population.
So, when we look at how we act as a society instead of what we preach, jobs and leadership are usually about winning and losing. Honesty as a value appears to trail behind for many people.
To sum up, it is good to be honest, and foolish to be naïve. But you knew that.
Here is what Warren Buffett has to say:
“Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without (integrity), you really want them to be dumb and lazy.”
When working cooperatively with others, self-preservation is a big motivator for your associates and partners. So is the lack of stress.
So, there is something to Dr. Stanley’s thesis. People want to do business with honest people, and on a repeat basis. That repetition over a long period is a critical factor in financial success.
Honesty is also the right thing to do.
Or, as Twain once said, “Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest”.
SUMMARY:
- Honesty and integrity are two of the most important attributes you must have to retire early.
- Honesty makes others want to do repeat business with you—a key factor in building wealth. No one creates wealth without the help of others.
- Dealing with dishonest people takes time, energy and resources better spent on something else.
ACTION STEPS:
- Build a personal brand based on honesty, integrity, and The long-term rewards will help you retire early and to build wealth.
- Display the kind of integrity that will get you repeat business.
- Behave in a way that is predictable. Honesty must go with consistent, reliable and predictable behavior over time to have value.
Disclaimer: consult with a financial professional before taking any steps outlined here. Not all advice is suitable for your circumstances or investment style.