In an age where people seem to look out for their best interest, I want to have a conversation about having integrity.

Brandon Cannady

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#StartUpFood

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2 min read

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Jul 15, 2016

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Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. I’m sure if you asked most people they would argue that they have integrity and would do the right thing when required to. Personally I think it’s the other way around and that people would seemingly do what’s best for themselves when given the opportunity.

It’s easy for me to argue this because it seems like the standard is to get everything in writing and make sure everything is completely written out. As much as I understand the need and benefit to getting everything legally defined I still feel like integrity is lost. We protect ourselves because we cannot trust others to make the mutually beneficial decision every time.

So what happened?

Why can’t we trust people anymore?

Can we no longer trust in an individuals word and a handshake?

I would argue that you can to a point. Like anything in life, especially business it takes time. Sometimes you want to execute on something quickly and legal agreements can be on the backburner.

So how can you form an agreement and make it work without having a legal agreement in place?

1. Know the other persons track record.

If they have a solid community reputation and people admire them and would vouch for their level of integrity; that’s always a plus.

2. Start with something small

Develop some trust. Meet every so often to get a person feel for the person. I feel like there is something to be said about intuition and a persons ability to pick up BS.

3. Communicate

If you form a verbal agreement, it’s important to make sure there is a means to an end. You eventually want to get to a contract to for a physical company and legally define things.

I want to be clear about something! I’m not suggesting you ignore the legal aspect of forming a company. This is a very important step and is 1000% necessary. I am suggesting that you take a good look at yourself and determine if you can have integrity. I’m a little old fashion I suppose in that I feel very comfortable with my abilities to stay true to my word. I have been in verbal partnerships that would have been easy to take advantage of and have not every time. This is not me attempting to look or sound good, this is me being honest.

Make a choice to have integrity, because when it all boils down to it, it will be tested eventually even if you have an agreement.

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