100 Business Ethics Quotes That Stand for Integrity
Integrity is more than a buzzword. It’s the foundation of trust and long-term success.
In a fast-moving business landscape, ethical decision-making stands out more than ever.
These business ethics quotes highlight the importance of doing what’s right, even when it’s hard.
If you’re navigating complex situations or leading by example, this collection is a powerful reminder that ethics and success are not mutually exclusive.
Top Business Ethics Quotes
Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. ~ Potter Stewart
In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. ~ Warren Buffett
The time is always right to do what is right. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently. ~ Warren Buffett
To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. ~ Douglas Adams
The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity. ~ Zig Ziglar
Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not. ~ Oprah Winfrey
Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. ~ C.S. Lewis
The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling. ~ Valdemar W. Setzer
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business. ~ Henry Ford
Make money, not excuses. ~ Grant Cardone
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. ~ Max DePree
There is no such thing as business ethics. There is only one kind – you have to adhere to the highest standards. ~ Marvin Bower
The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour. ~ Japanese Proverb
Relativity applies to physics, not ethics. ~ Albert Einstein
Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity. ~ W. Clement Stone
The highest form of intelligence is the ability to observe without evaluating. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
Waste no more time arguing about what a good person should be. Be one. ~ Marcus Aurelius
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. ~ Edmund Burke
Corporate Responsibility Quotes
Corporate social responsibility is measured in terms of businesses improving conditions for their employees, shareholders, communities, and environment. But moral responsibility goes further, reflecting the need for corporations to address fundamental ethical issues such as inclusion, dignity, and equality. ~ Klaus Schwab
The business of business should not be about money. It should be about responsibility. It should be about public good, not private greed. ~ Anita Roddick
Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good. ~ Jochen Zeitz
We don’t have to sacrifice a strong economy for a healthy environment. ~ Dennis Weaver
The future will either be green or not at all. ~ Bob Brown
Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance. ~ Ban Ki-moon
Sustainability is a political choice, not a technical one. It’s not a question of whether we can be sustainable, but whether we choose to be. ~ Gary Lawrence
The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces, or at least not try to defy them. ~ Paul Hawken
Sustainability is about ecology, economy and equity. ~ Ralph Bicknese
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~ Albert Einstein
The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. ~ Robert Swan
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. ~ Brundtland Commission
The Earth is what we all have in common. ~ Wendell Berry
We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to. ~ Terri Swearingen
The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. If we cannot sustain the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves. ~ Wangari Maathai
A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard. ~ Gaylord Nelson
Sustainability is not just about adopting the latest energy-efficient technologies or turning to renewable sources of power. Sustainability is the responsibility of every individual every day. It is about changing our behaviour and mindset to reduce power and water consumption, thereby helping to control emissions and pollution levels. ~ Joe Kaeser
We have a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy and habitable by all species. ~ Leonardo DiCaprio
The future is green energy, sustainability, renewable energy. ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger
Business Integrity Quotes
Integrity is the essence of everything successful. ~ R. Buckminster Fuller
Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. ~ Samuel Johnson
Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people. ~ Spencer Johnson
Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them. ~ Brené Brown
Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe. ~ Barbara De Angelis
Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word. ~ Brian Tracy
Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea. ~ Ayn Rand
Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain. ~ Anonymous
Integrity is doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, the way you said you would do it. ~ Anonymous
Integrity is keeping a commitment even after the mood in which the commitment was made has passed. ~ Anonymous
Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do. ~ Don Galer
Integrity is the foundation upon which all other values are built. ~ Brian Tracy
Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won’t cheat, then you know he never will. ~ John D. MacDonald
Integrity is conforming reality to our words – in other words, keeping promises and fulfilling expectations. ~ Stephen Covey
Integrity is the courage to meet the demands of reality. ~ Henry Cloud
Integrity is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Integrity is making sure that the things you say and the things you do are in alignment. ~ Katrina Mayer
Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody’s watching, and doing as you say you would do. ~ Roy T. Bennett
Integrity is being good even when no one is looking. ~ Anonymous
Integrity is the cornerstone of all success, without integrity our lives are empty. ~ Anonymous
Ethical Leadership Quotes
The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Leadership is not about titles, positions, or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another. ~ John C. Maxwell
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. ~ Max DePree
Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence. ~ Sheryl Sandberg
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better. ~ Jim Rohn
The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority. ~ Kenneth Blanchard
Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge. ~ Simon Sinek
A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be. ~ Rosalynn Carter
The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~ William Arthur Ward
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. ~ Jack Welch
The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. ~ Ralph Nader
A leader is someone who helps improve the lives of other people or improve the system they live under. ~ Sam Houston
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
Leadership is service, not position. ~ Tim Fargo
The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there. ~ John Buchan
The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. ~ Ray Kroc
A leader is a dealer in hope. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another. ~ John C. Maxwell
Values-Based Business Quotes
Your core values are the deeply held beliefs that authentically describe your soul. ~ John C. Maxwell
Values aren’t buses… They’re not supposed to get you anywhere. They’re supposed to define who you are. ~ Jennifer Crusie
Open communication, equality, and honesty are the values that should determine how we live. ~ Belinda Johnson
Values are like fingerprints. Nobody’s are the same, but you leave ’em all over everything you do. ~ Elvis Presley
It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are. ~ Roy Disney
Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier. ~ Roy E. Disney
The most important thing in life is to decide what is most important. ~ Anonymous
Values are the foundation of a company. They are the groundwork for all decisions. ~ Anonymous
Values are the deeply held beliefs that guide our actions and decisions. ~ Anonymous
Your values create your internal compass that can navigate how you make decisions in your life. If you don’t know what your values are, then you’re essentially taking a rowboat out into the ocean. ~ Oprah Winfrey
Values are the seeds from which all behavior grows. ~ Anonymous
Values are the standards that guide our conduct in a variety of settings. ~ Anonymous
Values are the principles, standards, or qualities that an individual or group of people hold in high regard. ~ Anonymous
Values are the basis for ethical action. ~ Anonymous
Values are the fundamental beliefs that guide or motivate attitudes or actions. ~ Anonymous
Values are the principles that help you to decide what is right and wrong, and how to act in various situations. ~ Anonymous
Values are the rules by which we make decisions about right and wrong, should and shouldn’t, good and bad. ~ Anonymous
Values are the standards we live by. They are the principles that guide our lives. ~ Anonymous
Values are the beliefs, attitudes, and judgments we prize. ~ Anonymous
