Personal integrity.

Just as large organizations can lose their way, individuals face an endless number of choices that define the shape and substance of their future.

Many people follow the path that's laid out for them by others — or one that they imagine others expect of them. They may be rewarded well along the way, but when they reach their destination, they find that their life feels like a house of cards. They expend a lot of energy convincing themselves that they're doing the right thing, using assurances like, “This is just the price of success.”

It’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to come to such a point of crisis, wondering if what they’re working for is ultimately worth the toll on their relationships and health. Interestingly, these thoughts often coincide with a plateau in business growth. Material wealth and success can feel relatively meaningless if the life the entrepreneur is living doesn’t reflect his or her core values and the reasons why he or she became an entrepreneur in the first place. The fragmented bits and pieces of these entrepreneurs’ lives — broken commitments, postponed or abandoned dreams, and uncomfortable trade-offs — reflect a lack of integrity with their own deeply-held values. Once recognized, these nagging signs of being out of integrity can be difficult to ignore.

If they are not prepared to do the work necessary to change, entrepreneurs in this situation may find themselves instead maintaining a large “defense budget” — using up considerable time, money, and mental energy to sustain the act. Such individuals often find it frustrating rather than inspiring when they discover that others have found a way to be successful without making all these sacrifices. Their entire identity becomes invested in defending the way they are doing things, even if this is leading them further and further from their original dreams and their true hearts’ desires. Often, the idea of retirement becomes the only way out. Unfortunately, this may be a long way off.

The other choice entrepreneurs have is to bring their lives and businesses more into alignment with their personal values. This can be done. We see it everyday with our clients and in the way we run our own company. It sometimes involves short-term sacrifices and disruptions, but the long-term gains far outweigh these perceived costs.

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