Doing the Right Thing

In life, you win some, and you lose some, but one unwavering tenet at Booz Allen Hamilton is that there can be no moral shortcuts on the road to success. In the cutthroat world of business, it can sometimes be tempting to adopt a dog-eat-dog mentality and pursue quick and easy wins by any means necessary, but success is then often hollow and short-lived. At Booz Allen, we choose the straight and narrow path, and our success is based on core values that go beyond words to daily application of those principles.

There is a reason our firm has thrived for more than a century and it boils down to the good old-fashioned value of integrity. Simply put, we do the right thing. That means operating with trust, honesty and accountability, with ourselves as individuals, with our clients, our colleagues, our families, and our friends. It means living and breathing the values that the firm is built on—the moral principles that have long set the course for the kind of company, and the kind of people, we aspire to be.

I was recently asked which of the firm’s 5 values resonated with me most. I didn’t have to think too long about the answer: Ferocious Integrity is the value I chose, because in my mind it’s the bedrock for all the other values:

• Without integrity one cannot serve our clients and deliver “Passionate Service”
• Integrity and the belief that what we are doing is right is what gives people the ability to find “Unflinching Courage” to behave in the right way and do the right thing
• Who wants a Champion’s Heart if it’s aim is not true and honest?
• Without integrity, ingenuity can be corrupted, skew judgment and serve the wrong cause

As former US president Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.” Without it, he urged, there can be no real success. At Booz Allen, each and every one of our team members is a leader—a champion of integrity. And our firm’s success is as real as it gets.

This quarter, we dedicate our newsletter to the people who continue to set the standard at Booz Allen Hamilton. From colleagues whose unwavering values have earned them well-deserved promotions or heart-felt farewells, to the team-building activities that keep us striving for collective success, we celebrate Booz Allen’s ferocious integrity in all its glory.