Integrity vs. Playing the Game: Why Both are Essential to Success

By Naomi Bonman / February 19, 2019 / COMMENTARY / 0 Comments

As I was browsing through Instagram a few days ago, I came across the video above. It was a very interesting debate that Monique and Steve Harvey had in regards to integrity and ‘playing the game’.

I saw the video on Dr. Joe Johnson’s instagram page and he brought up the question of who is right? I believe both of the are right. And here’s why.

In business, and especially in entrepreneurship, you need both. For one, having integrity means that you display honesty and have strong morals and uprightness. People of integrity are undivided; hence, they are easier to trust and you want to do business with them on a consistent basis.

Now when you just play the game, yes it may get you far, but at the same time you might break and/or bend some rules to get what you want. So, you must have both and correctly know how to use them without overstepping the boundaries.

Some may ask, “Okay, well, how do I use both then? Because if I play the game then I have no morals right? But I want to be successful and I want people to trust me. So, where’s the balance?”

There’s balance in everything and like everything, these things have to be learned and it comes first with knowing people. You have to know your potential client and how that client gets down. Once you know that particular person, it is then easier to enter contracts with him or her.

To get to know people, the first step is social media. The majority of business people use some type of social platform, whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, you can easily find them. From there, reach out and send a friend request and then watch them.

Watch the things they post and once you feel that you have enough valuable information, then send them a professional message in their direct messenger.

Now it’s your turn. I would love to hear what you think about this topic in the comments below.