Can honest people become rich and famous in a corporate environment?

Question

Or is dishonesty a prerequisite to move up the ladder?

Answer 1

Absolutely. In fact, integrity is the single most important asset. No dishonest person will get far in a good organization.

Answer 2

Most people that move up the corporate ladder are honest. You just hear about the bad ones.

And, some honest, successful people got bad reputations simply because other, unsuccessful people hate seeing anyone become successful. It's called the 'Tall Poppy Syndrome'.

What you need is to look at some heros. Look around you at the amazing progress that has been made in this country. Do you think secretaries and paper pushers were behind it all?

Answer 3

I do think it is possible, but I am sad to say that it is a rare event in my experience.
The best thing is to be true to yourself and honesty is the best policy.
Never be dishonest because then you always have to be looking over your shoulder and wondering when someone will find you out, and call you on your dishonesty.
It seems that the people who try to be honest and straight forward are the ones who are constantly struggling to get ahead in the corporate world, while those who are back stabbers and constantly telling tales seem to climb the corporate ladder the fastest. But the honest ones are always the happiest, and can fall asleep at night with a clear conscious! I know riches and fame are wonderful and it is something we all desire, but we have to ask ourselves, are we willing to sacrifice our morals to have them.
God Bless and Good Luck.

Answer 4

Absolutely! Take a look at the back ground of Warren Buffet, Lee Iaccoca, H. Ross Perot, and the like. Each one has had to overcome obstacles that a lesser person would have cheated in some way to beat. I won't put any names to this last category of people, but if you look, you'll see their names listed in stories about fraud, embezzlement, and other sorts of illegalities.

Answer 5

Yep, just keep your integrity and if someone is asking you to do something you know to be wrong, you have to either leave the company or risk being fired. If you think you can go to higher ups, then that is a risk too because they may be in on it. But I believe that most corporations are not corrupt- if they are they wont last and you wont want to be a big-wig for them anyway!