Simon Sinek, in his much-watched TED talk, reminds us that there are three frames of our action –  the‘WHAT’, the ‘HOW’ and the ‘WHY’. Typically, we are guided in that sequence as well. We spend time on ‘what’ we are to do and the mechanics of ‘how’. What we neglect is the ‘WHY’!‘Why’ is the raison d’être of our existence. It is the sole reason we are in business, and our larger purpose and our objective to spend most of the lives! It is like a calling rather than employment.

One of the most important tasks of professionals is to take decisions. Management is often called ‘decision making without bias!’. Some of these decisions are taken with deep analysis and some with the ‘gut feel’. But even this ‘gut feel’ is actually the commutation of life experiences and the unconscious ‘decision algorithm’ we build in our minds. So these decisions that we get from our ‘feeling’ are not totally devoid of structure and not some esoteric magic cauldron, churning decisions. They are from a mental framework tessellated from deep experience.

Integrity and value systems are important for a professional. They say that we are in an age where virtue is in very short supply. It is increasingly important to do what we think is right– always. In a world that keeps throwing nasty surprises at us, it is imperative to display professional integrity; the willingness to face facts even if they’re at odds with one’s preconceptions. Integrity is simply elucidated as “doing the right thing when no one else is looking!”

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