Thomas M. JOYCE

President and CEO of Knight Trading Group

During my years at Merrill Lynch, I worked for some of the finest people I have ever met. Two in particular set the tone for the organization back then, Dan Tully, the CEO, and Steve Hammerman, the General Counsel. One of the main focuses they imparted to the organization was “ROI,” Return on Integrity.

Having spent more than twenty-five years in the investment industry, it has never been more clear than it is today that “integrity” is the foundation upon which one builds a career. We all make tactical mistakes in business and we all have the occasional error in judgment, but we learn from them and ultimately become better business people for the experience. But once one’s integrity gets called into question, opportunities seize up, clients begin questioning relationships, and one’s leadership authority wanes. A perceived lack of integrity is the death sentence in business. My experience is that ROI is the most important “metric” of all.

A true leader uses this integrity in combination with optimism. Optimism comes naturally to many leaders, but a quote attributed to Dwight Eisenhower in his biography authored by Kenneth Davis sums it up best. General Eisenhower said, “Optimism and pessimism are infectious and they spread more rapidly from the head downward than in any other direction. Optimism has a most extraordinary effect upon all with whom the commander comes in contact. With this clear realization I firmly determined that my mannerisms and speech in public would always reflect the cheerful certainty of victory—that any pessimism and discouragement I might ever feel would be reserved for my pillow.” In my experience, the finest, most successful people I have met are resolutely positive and optimistic, always believing they will achieve their goals. There is nothing more inspiring and stimulating than being in the company of optimists. It is at the core of true leadership.

Return on integrity is the main metric