ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - May 11, 2001

Sunday I am off to northern Michigan to help a restaurant determine what it wants to be when it grows up (and how to get there), then to present four programs for Sysco in Gaylord. Back home Thursday morning, off to Italy first thing Friday. I am soooo ready . . . !

"There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity" -- Tom Peters
My New Mexico colleague Tom Martin sent this quote to me a few weeks ago. In turn, it reminded me of another favorite quote along these lines

"Nothing is more important than doing what is right.
That is so absurdly obvious that most people pay no attention to it.
Most people seem to think that what is obvious is beneath them.
They pass up truth in favor of something more intellectually stimulating." -- Paul Williams in Das Energi

All this got me thinking. How can you tell if you are out of integrity? For what it is worth, here is my short take on a longer question (which I expect to expand as I have more time to reflect on it.)

You can tell that you are out of integrity when . . .
. . . you are not operating in a manner consistent with your values (Warning signyou have a sick feeling in your gut about something you are doing.)

. . . you are not doing what you told others (and yourself) you would do, when you would do it or how you would do it (Warning signyou miss deadlines without taking responsibility to inform others who will be affected.)

. . . you are not giving your employer/your family/yourself your best efforts (Warning signyou start avoiding the particular area of your life that you are cheating out of your time and attention.)

. . . you start to become too clever (Warning signyour mind is churning, looking for an "angle." The truth is always simple . . . if occasionally ego-deflating.)

. . . you are afraid that somebody will "find you out" or "blow the whistle" on you for something (Warning signyou tell different stories to different people about the same event or situation, trying to cover up or look good.)

. . . you do not accept responsibility for the consequences of your own actions (Warning signyou find yourself quick to place blame on some other person or situation when things don't work out right.)

Tom Peters is right when it comes to integrity -- if you are not totally in, you are out. That being said, and reviewing the short list above, you can see that staying in integrity can be a daunting task. Good. It is supposed to be.

We are all works in progress, subject to human frailty and the temptation to detour into the "dark side," none of which is a valid excuse for anything. The trick, I think, is to get better at recognizing when we are out of integrity and do whatever it takes to start getting ourselves right.

All of which reminds me of another favorite quote

"You teach best what you most need to learn." -- Richard Bach in Illusions

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