Integrity

In this entry and the next three entries I will discuss what, to me, are the most important core values for Yankee Farm Credit.

The most important value to me is integrity. Our business is to provide credit and related financial services. Those businesses depend on honesty and trust. When we evaluate an applicant for a loan, we use the five Cs of credit: Character, Capacity, Capital, Collateral and Conditions. The most important is Character. If we cannot trust the applicant, it does not matter how strong the other four Cs are.

"Integrity" sums up in one word the concepts of honesty, trust and sound character that are important to me. We expect our customers to have integrity, and we must hold ourselves to at least the same standard.

My favorite discussion of integrity is a commencement speech by Richard Feynman at Caltech in 1974. Feynman discusses scientific integrity in this speech (he is after all giving advice to graduates of the California Institute of Technology), but the same concepts apply to banking and farming, indeed to all walks of life.

Feynman's key message is that you must leave room for doubt. You must question your assumptions, your reasoning and your conclusions. You must doubt yourself. "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself–and you are the easiest person to fool." I encourage you to read the whole speech at the link above. You will find that Feynman has a good sense of humor, too.

A simple test of integrity is the Golden Rule. If you are treating others the way that you would want them to treat you, then you are most likely acting with integrity.