Russ Umphenour

Dec. 20, 2002
Commencement Speech
Kennesaw State University

Speaker: Russ Umphenour
President, RTM Restaurant Group

Umphenour biograhpy

Good Afternoon!

Congratulations to all of you who worked hard to earn this degree from KSU. Celebrate this day.

Congratulations to the faculty and staff, who so capably taught, counseled and guided this group of graduates.

And, congratulations to Dr. Siegel and the Board of Trustees who provided the leadership for this university -- leadership that has propelled KSU from 3,700 students about 20 years ago to more than 16,000 today; leadership that has helped to provide the facilities, the faculty and the curriculum to educate this group of graduates.

Congratulations to all of you here today as family and friends who have been part of this educational odyssey. On some days, you probably had the hardest job.

Graduates -- can we talk?

On this momentous occasion, you are faced with two questions, two big questions. Probably the two biggest questions you will ever face.

1. What am I going to do now? Hopefully, you have that figured out, have a job and will be off and running.

But what you will do with your life is not nearly as important as HOW you will lead your life . . . which is question 2: How will I choose to live my life? By this, I mean what rules and guidelines will you use as the yardstick for your life? On what foundation of beliefs are your behaviors and actions grounded?

Will you choose the low road? Or will you choose the high road? Short cuts or the right way? Will you choose a life of ethics and character based on personal integrity, truthfulness and fairness or will you choose to lie, cheat and steal; treat others unfairly, act irresponsibly and not be a person of your word. Will you be able to sleep at night and look at yourself in the mirror every day?

Dr. Siegel shared with me this year's theme -- "The Courage to Lead for the Common Good." What an exciting mission!

She says, "It takes personal courage to enter the arena, especially if one is committed to acting ethically."

This powerful belief really clicked with me because when we began RTM in 1973, one of the things I set out to do was to prove that a business could be operated successfully without taking advantage of people, or having to lie, cheat or steal. We hear so much about how business-people, in order to be successful, bend the rules. This sad truth is brought home every day as the news media exposes another white-collar criminal or another tax- fraud case or another "deal" where one person takes advantage of another. Enron -- Worldcom -- all the dot.com nonsense -- another insider trading deal. An all-pervasive attitude of the ends justifying the means is ruining American business.

I just don't believe that's any way to run a business. At RTM, we believe that the most valuable assets on our balance sheet are integrity, truthfulness and fairness. We are very much focused on bottom-line results, but we value honor most, for profit without honor is a bankrupt philosophy that produces hollow results.

This commitment to meaningful values and beliefs is one of the main reasons that RTM and Kennesaw have been such close partners over the years. And now that Dr. Siegel and Dr. Judith Stillion are pioneering a new curriculum with the creation of the Center for Leadership, Ethics & Character, RTM and Kennesaw will collaborate and partner even more in the future.

Why? Because as educators and as business leaders, we share the common goal to instill leadership, ethics and character as everyday standard operating procedures, not just as a shallow slogan. From the classroom to the boardroom, from report cards to annual reports, from textbooks to book value, educational and business institutions share the accountability for developing future leaders who are grounded in ethical and decent behavior.

And that's what I want to talk about today -- leadership, ethics and character. And how will you choose to live your life?

We're going to do this in reverse order -- character -- ethics -- leadership.

Character

You see it all begins with character -- yours and mine.

Character is an individual thing -- in the mind -- in the heart -- of each and every individual.

What is your character?

Your character traits -- respect, honesty, responsibility, fairness, loyalty, determination, personal word. What are they for you?

Who are you? When you are by yourself? When no one else knows?

Are you truthful -- always?

Are you fair in all your dealings with others?

Do you respect everyone -- regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual preference or disability?

Do you accept complete responsibility for your words and actions?

Are you willing to be held accountable?

Do you always keep your word -- even at personal cost to you?

Do you demonstrate perseverance and determination?

All of these are the actions through which we demonstrate our character.

It's an individual thing.

Each and every one of you must be able to look at yourself in the mirror and be proud of the character inside you.

Ethics

The science of morality in human conduct -- the rules we live by -- not subjective. At RTM -- Dream Big --Work Hard -- Get It Done -- Play Fair -- Have Fun -- Make A Difference -- ethical values.

How do you choose to live -- ethically or unethically?

All of these character traits we've been talking about come out in our behaviors. When we live our lives in an exemplary fashion, with courage and conviction, we are choosing to live ethically. We are choosing the high ground, we are making a conscious and premeditated decision to do the right -- or the wrong -- thing.

When you are faced with a choice -- always take the high ground. You'll never be sorry.

No one ever puts their head on a pillow at night and says to themselves, "I wish I had taken the low road. I wish I had acted more unethically. I wish I had lied. I wish I had been rude. I wish I hadn't tried so hard."

Do many people say the opposite of that? You bet. They go to bed regretting their actions of less than ethical behavior.

I wish I'd had the courage to stand up for what I know is right.

I wish I'd spoken up.

I wish I had shown more determination.

I wish I had kept my personal word.

I wish I had treated that person with more respect.

See where I'm going with this?

There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience. A clear conscience because you know you've done your best that day to live ethically and let your character shine.

A troublesome area is everything in between: not quite the high ground or the low ground -- not doing your best -- stopping before the personal cost is too high -- not lying -- but not telling the whole truth -- and fooling yourself into thinking it's enough -- or that there's no cost -- or it doesn't matter -- or that no one knows -- or it's not the first misstep on a long, downward slide.

When you end up at a point where you say to yourself, "How did things get so bad?" you can usually trace the answer back to the little things that you let slide.

The opposite is also true. No one starts out as a fully-formed leader -- a complete Nelson Mandela or Rudy Giuliani. It starts with the little things: tell the truth, live the Golden Rule, don't look for the answers to the test on your neighbor's paper. It progresses to do a full day's work for a full day's pay, respect your elders, "no" means "no," I don't do drugs, plagiarizing is a crime; and ends with the big ethical questions like those faced by the staff of Enron.

The following is from an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article:

We all need to be more like George Anderson, owner of a struggling bookstore in Rome, Ga.

He is a self-appointed ethics watchdog. George Anderson has made it his life's mission to shine the light on government wrongdoing. He has filed nearly 200 ethics complaints since 1996.

Anderson is an outstanding example of civic engagement. He closes down his bookstore to be present at sparsely-attended ethics hearings. And he devotes countless hours to research.

Yet Anderson, with quiet perseverance, is influencing people. In a few short years, he has put public officials on high alert that they are subject both to the laws they establish and the scrutiny of the public.

He says, "One person can make a difference."

Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." And that means men and women.

Leadership

We are all leaders. Leaders are made -- not born -- made one day at a time -- one task -- one project -- one job at a time.

Norman Schwarzkopf says, "The true rewards of leadership come from striving to look up to a higher moral standard . . . Some people get into the 'leadership game' for the next tangible reward -- the next promotion, the next pay raise, the next headline. But these individuals are inevitably doomed to disappointment. At the end of the day, they cannot point to these things and say that they are the stuff of which genuine happiness and pride are made."

A national study -- done every 5 years or so -- lists characteristics of admired leaders:

No. 1 -- Honesty -- gets a higher percent of the votes each year.

The best leaders ultimately rise to positions of leadership and stay there because of their character and their willingness to live their ethical values every day. The best leaders have an innate set of beliefs that directs their daily thoughts and actions. They have the ability to discern right from wrong.

Like Dr. Siegel has said: "Leadership for the common good is about having the personal courage to enter the arena and be committed to acting ethically."

That personal courage is not only about living the ethical life yourself, it's about helping to guide others to do the right thing. And it's about taking a stand for the right thing.

It's about taking a stand against dishonesty, unfairness, untruthfulness, irresponsibility, disrespect and disloyalty.

We must take a stand for doing the right thing, even if we are standing alone.

When you take a stand, when you are consistent in standing up for what is right, you invite trust from others. At the end of the day, we all want to be part of a team that we trust.

Thomas Jefferson said, "In matters of principle, stand like a rock." Yes, that's what good leaders do.

Character -- begins inside you and me.

Ethics -- how we let that character shine forth every day.

Leadership -- this is how you let your ethical values influence your relationship with others.

Leadership -- Ethics -- Character.

As you go forward, my counsel to you is: Don't worry too much about WHAT you will do with the rest of your life, but HOW you choose to live it. I hope that you choose to live and lead with character and ethics, with courage and conviction, with a personal commitment to always do the right thing.

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