The Integrity Process (more)
Integrity: Whole and complete, nothing added nothing missing.
For example:
- Would you want a surgeon who is cheating on his/her spouse to be operating on your brain? Why not? —because at some level you know there are undesirable consequences for deceit.
- A pilot can’t afford the arrogance of thinking that an unacknowledged cheating incident during high school won’t eventually catch up with him/her.
- A Navy SEAL can’t afford to risk the success of a mission on whether or not they are handling their financial responsibilities with integrity; bills, taxes, car insurance all must be handled responsibly. Equally important, because they operate at an even higher level of integrity than most people, they can’t silently support teammates in deceits or perpetrations. Note: It’s not that they must clean up all of life’s perpetrations, they simply must not hide them from themselves or others.
- A computer programmer can’t afford to have pirated (unpaid for freeware) on his/her computer, else they can’t be certain that bugs/malfunctions have absolutely nothing to do with his/her personal integrity.
While there is no proof that such things have an effect we know they do.
Highly skilled professionals such as SEALs, pilots, computer programmers, and surgeons, to name a few, are playing at the level of excellence. All have entered into a realm where they begin to notice that personal integrity affects performance outcomes, not only for themselves but also for all with whom they relate. As one approaches mastery they no longer have the luxury of blaming engine malfunctions or outside causes for their failures, they begin to examine other possibilities, to include being responsible for the collective integrity of members within their group.
A professional is willing to acknowledge that they have an effect on inanimate objects. Depending on how powerful they are willing to be they observe that intentions begin to manifest themselves with little or no doingness. Time and again things magically fall into place, so much so they can no longer be dismissed as “happenings.”
Integrity effects everyone’s outcomes, it’s just that few ever notice the correlation between things not working and their integrity. An undisciplined mind won’t let itself examine such a possibility—it is addicted to reasons and explanations. Fewer still get to fine-tune life so as have everything working in harmony all the time. Typically people get either a relationship or their job going well but soon crash with one or both. Mastery is having everything, health, relationships, and prosperity, all working at the same time, and then sustaining it.
The average CEO en route to mastery can interimly get away with white lies or abusive condescensions toward their spouse or subordinates. The consequences are not always so obvious, whereas a tightrope walker cannot. He/she is conscious of whether or not their integrity is in. The high wire aerialist cannot afford to leave the house having just caused an upset with his/her spouse—such incompletes, referred to as out-integrities, sap ones consciousness.
Integrity has to do with keeping agreements (verbal, written, and implied). Ultimate integrity is not that you don’t lie, but that you can be trusted to clean up a lie, a deceit, a broken agreement.
Excerpted from A New Model of Integrity: —a paper co authored by Werner Erhard (founder of est Erhard Seminars Training, The Hunger Project), Michael C. Jensen, PhD, (Harvard Business School), and Steve Zaffron (Vanto Group—a subsidiary of Landmark Education).
“…defining integrity as honoring one’s word.”
“…honoring your word is also the route to creating whole and complete social and working relationships.”
“…increased performance for individuals, groups,”
Go here for the Integrity Checklist Process
