A comment on integrity

I recommend you first watch this moving speech by the Dutch foreign minister at the UN:

 
I searched Youtube first for “MH17 wedding ring” and top of the search results is well worth watching:
 

The second video has to be Russian state sponsored, don’t you think? It is very convincing indeed and must be professionally produced. Surely not the work of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine?
Who knows what the truth is, and the seeds of doubt are what the makers of the second video want you to think.
The crucial and reasonable question is why did it take so many days to allow independent investigators to get to the crash site? Think about that and then make up your own mind which view is more likely to be true.
I’m extremely impressed with the forthright views expressed in this fantastic leader article in this week’s Economist called “A Web of Lies”.
They say our western governments need to man up and do what is right, not what is expedient in the short term.
 
How is this related to early stage software driven start up companies? 
It’s all about integrity. Sometimes, whether you are an investor or a company CEO, you just have to do what is right, even if it’s not in your best short term interests personally.
Unfortunately, a side effect of our democracies is that Western governments exhibit what looks to me like a lack of integrity. They are influenced by voters and lobbyists. The politicians talk a good game but don’t follow up with actions. A warship manufacturer lobbies one government from acting against the bullies. Another government worries about unpopularity if oil prices go up due to lack of supply from the East.
Don’t say one thing and do another. In all your dealings say and do consistent things. Act always with integrity.