“Hurry, Scurry, Worry, Work,” President Truman sighed during the MacArthur crisis. He concluded, “I guess that is the way it is.”

That was the way it is; but, even if many feel it’s still the way it is today, it is not the way it has to be in the future for people and organizations with integrity.

Truman spoke these words during a time of fear and uncertainty in a nation that was still licking its wounds from World War II. The United States was rocked internally by McCarthyism, the threat of the Russian nuclear bomb in Europe and the potential for World War III in Korea.

Over 50 years later, the world is still “hurry, scurry, worry, work,” but now we also have to “do more with less.” The advent of global competition, changing world politics, the population explosion and technology have made the world a place where “hurry, scurry, worry, work” is not enough to keep you employed.

Following the herd

The faster we go, the more we need to reduce the worry through a relentless exploration of changing ideas: from management fads and Andy Warhol’s “15 minutes of fame,” to ‘live-long-and-prosper’ medical and financial techniques and instant enlightenment in eight easy steps.

We pursue our lifestyle with confidence that because, if everyone else is doing it, it must be okay. Even in the face of evidence to the contrary, we seek solace in the herd. There’s safety in numbers. Yet, because we don’t want to be part of the herd all the time, we seek to differentiate ourselves in the diversity of materialism, intellectualism, recreation and trends in fashion, entertainment or music. It is all, we believe, good.

The problem is that it is just not good enough. There is never enough. We are driven not only to seek more ‘good’, but to have it bigger and better than it ever was.

Seeking the Grail . . .

King Arthur and his knights had the same problem. They decided that the Holy Grail was the ultimate in good — the biggest and the best. It would bring peace and prosperity to its finder and the whole land.

One by one, they left the comfort of the castle and entered the woods. What was astonishing was that each left alone and each entered the forest in a different place. Each one had to find their own way to the Holy Grail. The way of the herd is okay, but the way to the Holy Grail is ours alone.

I can hear the words now — been there, heard that, doesn’t work here. “Hurry, scurry, worry, work” is the way of the world. Accept what is, as it is. Be happy!

. . . and finding Integrity

Most people correctly conclude that integrity is a personal virtue — a way of life defined by wholeness, consistency and purity of purpose. Yet the idea has so much more to offer. It applies to systems, processes and performance. A data system has integrity if the information is untainted. A process has integrity if it is efficient and effective. Performance has integrity if the ends and the means are integrated.

“Hurry, scurry” means go here and there quickly. This is a sign that systems are broken and chaos rules the day. The secret to making order out of chaos is standardization. Disney knows that and so does Wal-Mart.

“Worry, work” means that people are concerned about work-based results. This is a sign that organizational decision-making and problem-solving processes are broken. People have no confidence that their actions will lead to the results they need.

The way of integrity balances work and family life. The way of integrity requires consistent adjustment so that sound financial, physical and social-support systems can be structured and relied on. The way of integrity requires objectivity in a scientific approach to decision-making and problem-solving.

Each one of us needs to find our own way to the Holy Grail. This is not the way of the herd. It requires you to enter the forest, in your own way at your own time, to take up the search; a search for that way of life that feels right and is worth it to you and to you alone. A search that leads to the ultimate answer to “what’s in it for me?”

Technorati Tags: purpose, integrity, finding your way, objectivity, seeking wholeness