Building The Best Company

Growth Begins with Integrity

According to the popular story, there was a young store clerk working in New Salem, Illinois sometime between 1830 and 1834.

Every time this young clerk realized he had shortchanged a customer, he would immediately close the shop, track down the customer, and return the correct amount to the customer, even if they were only short by a few pennies.

It didn’t matter to the clerk how long the shop would be closed, how far he had to walk, or whether he even knew where the customer had gone.

This clerk became so trusted that he was eventually asked to mediate fights and arguments, to judge according to his reputation for integrity.

According to Robert Rutledge from New Salem, this man’s “judgement was final in all that region of the country. People relied implicitly upon his honesty, integrity, and impartiality.”

Like all of us, the young clerk would eventually grow up.

Unlike all of us, he would go on to start a law practice. He would go on to win four consecutive terms in the Illinois state legislature. He would go on to become the President of the United States.

Unlike all of us, he would be known for his integrity, and people would remember him almost 200 years later as Honest Abe.

What can we learn from the humble integrity of this young store clerk?

What can we learn from his journey from honest clerk to Honest Abe?

How can companies gain the trust of their customers, like the adoring fans of great people like Abraham Lincoln?

Seek Value, Not Applause

Albert Einstein, one of the most successful men in the world, once said, “Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value.”

What did he mean? Shouldn’t success be the main goal of any business? Shouldn’t growth be the target?

What Einstein saw was that those who only seek success and growth are superficial; they tend to remain near the surface of things and miss out on sincere integrity, which is what really matters to customers.

We should strive to avoid becoming like the man one Oxford don described when saying, “On the surface, he’s profound, but deep down, he’s superficial.”

The truth is that growth can be a slippery slope backwards if you don’t watch yourself.

Public Image vs. Inner Strength

Companies are much like individual people.

They can grow.

They can learn.

They can have integrity.

Imagine your company as a person who is constantly seeking friends. He constantly receives compliments on how kind he is, how much he gives to his friends, and how willing he is to help out.

Compliments can boost your spirits and empower your public image. If you’re not careful, your public image will be the only thing that will be empowered.

Are you seeking applause? Or are you sincerely looking to be of use to customers, whether you get the attention or not?

Marcus Aurelius ruled Rome from 161 AD until he died in 180 AD. According to the story, he had a servant follow him around and whisper in his ear, “You’re just a man” every time someone gave him a compliment.

He knew his public image was in danger of outgrowing his inner strength; that his adorers were attributing values to him which he may not have actually possessed.

A company that can encompass Einstein’s self awareness, Aurelius’ grounded humility, and Lincoln’s powerful honesty will achieve a level of success that can only come from loyal and happy customers.

It’s All About the Customer

At Best Company, an impartial and unbiased review site that ranks companies according to customer reviews and a visible-to-public ranking system, long strides are being made in building customer trust and loyalty.

It does this by striving to create a culture of honesty ingrained in the minds of its employees. It does this by practicing an almost unreasonable amount of integrity within its industry.

For example, Best Company doesn’t pit companies against each other, starting bidding wars for the number one spot.

On one occasion years ago, Best Company representatives were in a meeting with a highly ranked and nationally renowned company. Though the said company had achieved a high amount of success and ranked fairly high on Best Company, it was not ranked #1.

This led to a check being offered for $1 million, in order to move that company up to the #1 spot on bestcompany.com. Best Company’s revenues barely surpassed that number at the time and it would have been a huge boon financially to a startup

In quick response however, the Best Company founders and employees slid the check back across the table, explaining how that wasn’t the way they did business. The said company then countered with $1.5 million, and Best Company once again promptly declined, instead choosing to focus on what that said company could do to improve their business and delight consumers.

Integrity above all will win customer loyalty.

In stark contrast to other review sites, Best Company does not sell the top position to the highest bidder and reveals openly how it weighs companies, giving the greatest weight to real customer reviews.

This allows actual customers to have an enormous effect in the way companies are ranked. It shines a light on how companies treat their customers.

Best Company validates its customer reviews, filtering out fake reviews and ensuring that companies cannot affect their ranking by leaving reviews on their own company’s profile.

Honest Abe, alongside many other honest men and women, set a bar for honesty for which Best Company is constantly striving.

Though Best Company feels they have much to do in order to become the household name they desire, honesty, humility, and a keen self-awareness will put them, and any company, on the top of the list that matters most: the list of consumer trust.