Integrity is essential and irreplaceable. It is the most valuable asset for a person, a company, or a society seeking to build and progress.

If you ask the average person on the street about U.S. energy and U.S. oil in particular, our situation, most Americans would say, 'Oh, we're energy poor; we don't have enough oil; we don't have enough natural gas.'

Throughout my life and career, I have continually been impressed with the importance of integrity - whether it was growing up as a Boy Scout, working in one of my first jobs as a university janitor, or being a leader in a Fortune 500 company.

Your company's most valuable asset is how it is known to its customers.

In the business world, we can point to instances when a lack of integrity has bankrupted entire companies - in sectors as different as finance, telecommunications, manufacturing, and energy.

Your personal integrity, once established and earned, people don't have to think about it. They know. They know you. They know you'll do the right thing every time.