The youngest generation in the workforce — so called Gen Y– is known to want careers that serve a larger good (though the point is sometimes disputed). Young Americans may be driven towards careers that benefit society by the desire for rewarding work, but one recently released business book argues that the understanding that business is essentially about service isn’t just good for the individual, it’s key to profitability as well.

Journalist Anna Bernasek devotes her new book, to the idea that it is in both the individual and the company’s interest to operate with integrity and view trust as a? valuable asset. Speaking to the Cool Friends section of business guru Tom Peters‘ website, she contends that “you truly cannot create wealth in the long-term unless you are operating with integrity.” Her reasoning:

We tend to think of [integrity] as a personal value, entirely up to you as the individual. But you can also look at integrity from an economic point of view. Integrity really is about a relationship of trust. Any single transaction has to have this relationship of trust in order for it to succeed. When you go to the store and buy milk, you are trusting in the integrity of the storekeeper to stock milk that’s untainted and pure and fresh. Once you have that relationship of integrity and trust, you have an asset that produces economic value….

There’s no conflict between self-interest and integrity. The point of the book is that it is in your self-interest to operate with integrity. Our economy rewards those who operate with integrity; that’s the way you create wealth. That’s what’s in your self-interest.

If numerous counter-examples to the assertion that integrity underpins profits spring to mind, then you’re not alone. My first reaction to Bernasek’s argument was that misbehavior has clearly paid dividends for some firms. They just need to take care to keep their customers and their victims separate. After all, BP is paying a stiff price for cutting corners in the Gulf, but Exxon Mobil and Shell have spewed over 500 million gallons of oil into the Niger river delta, far from the prying eyes of most of its customers, and continues to make startling profits with little public outcry. And plenty of firms that are trustworthy to their consumers have a pretty dubious record with those that make their products.

Still, it seems worth asking whether this mode of business won’t come crashing down eventually, and Bernasek’s central question for American business deserves pondering. She asks: “are we trying to be the richest nation in the world? Or are we trying to be the best nation in the world?”

Interested in reading more? The complete, in-depth interview is here.

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