2018 · GS Paper 4 · Q3(b) · 10 marks
"In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they do not have the first, the other two will kill you." — Warren Buffett What do you understand by this statement in the present-day scenario? Explain.
In short
Buffett's rule means integrity must come first, because intelligence and energy merely multiply whatever character they serve. Frauds such as Satyam in 2009 and FTX in 2022 were run by brilliant, tireless people who lacked integrity, which made them more dangerous, not less.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 273 words
Integrity as foundation
Consistency of thought, word and deed, even unobserved, sets the direction of talent; without it intelligence becomes cunning and energy becomes zeal for wrong ends.
Capability as amplifier
A brilliant dishonest employee does more harm than a dull one, because he can design and hide the fraud.
Trust as the real asset
Discretion can only be delegated to people who need no watching, which is why the Nolan Committee (1995) made integrity a principle of public life.
Corporate fraud
Satyam's Ramalinga Raju confessed in 2009 to falsified accounts, and Volkswagen's engineers cheated emissions tests in 2015.
Data and AI
Cambridge Analytica (2018) misused data of up to 87 million Facebook users; AI now multiplies what one unscrupulous mind can do.
Public service
The CVC's Integrity Pacts in procurement and Mission Karmayogi's focus on attitude, not just competence, answer this risk, while E. Sreedharan's Delhi Metro shows integrity turning ability into a public good.
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This chapter in the exam
Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from the world14 questions
Asked in 11 of 14 sittings since 2013
- 2025What do each of these quotations convey to you in the present context? "The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes." – William James
- 2022what do each of the following quotations mean to you? "Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it." — Dalai Lama
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2018 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.