“In life—in your heart—Integrity. Want some?”

One of the questions I frequently get during my public appearances and workshops is: what really is the value of practicing integrity. In my November 16, 2018 blog post https://www.integrityintensive.com/blog/myth, I observed:

“If you want to practice integrity, you will have to resist the habits of a culture that treats embarrassment, not truthfulness, as the touchstone of integrity; that deploys a rich vernacular of self-interest to override duty; that embraces rampant promise-breaking as inconsequential; and that glorifies the imaginary wellspring of intuition as a reliable basis for decision-making. In other words, you will have to defy a cultural environment that encourages you to breach integrity, even as it proclaims its importance.”

Overcoming deeply entrenched cultural conventions is not an easy task, so it is understandable if you ask, “Why bother practicing integrity if staying out of trouble and defying detection is all the culture really demands?”

The short answer is that integrity is essentially about authenticity. It is an understanding of who we are, not as the culture defines us, or ensnares us, but as we know ourselves to be, or aspire to be. Integrity is an understanding of our truest nature as human beings participating in and contributing to our relationships. That’s why the practice of integrity is so rewarding.

But, as with most things worth pursuing, it is difficult because it requires constant attention to our responsibilities in the world. There is no aspect of our involvement with others that is inconsequential. Nothing we say or do is inconsequential or “small.” This responsibility does not have to overwhelm us but it does invite us to embrace the power of truthfulness as a resource of authenticity in our daily lives.

To share this perspective, I’ve been invited on several radio programs featuring the spiritual basis of the practice of integrity. I would like to share two of these with you.

“Things Not Seen,” a Chicago-based radio program hosted by David Dault, explores issues of culture and faith. This in-depth exploration of the cultural and spiritual affliction caused by integrity breaches was aired on February 11, 2019. It is titled, Integrity Without Limits and can be heard at:

http://www.thingsnotseenradio.com/shows/tns1903

“The God Show” based in Phoenix, Arizona, and hosted by Pat McMahon is a widely heard program on spiritual matters. I was Pat’s guest on Sunday, February 3, 2019. The interview is titled: In life—in your heart—Integrity. Want some? It can be heard at:

https://starworldwidenetworks.com/episodes/in-life-in-your-heart-integrity-want-some-the-god-show-1

I will be commenting more on this important perspective about integrity. As always, I would very much appreciate your thoughts.

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The Law of Small Things

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Most of us take our integrity for granted. As a result, a false confidence distorts our decision-making as individuals, in business and in our nation. The big breaches of integrity we see all around us—that we tend to blame on others—can be addressed by the “practice” of integrity as a learned skill, in our individual relationships, our workplaces and in our nation.

But first, we have to let go of the illusion that we “have” integrity as a matter of intuition and that we are innately ready for big things without practicing on small things.

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About Integrity Stew

“Integrity: The state of being whole and undivided; the condition of being unified, unimpaired or sound”

I originated this blog and video series in order to explore issues of integrity in our culture.

More specifically, to understand why trust—the essential ingredient of integrity—has taken such a beating in the operation of government, the conduct of business, relationships in the workplace, and even in the ways we act within our family.

Integrity Stew takes a hard look at what we need to change in our society but also explores what is worth preserving.

The videos in the Integrity Stew series are often controversial. The views of the interviewees do not necessarily represent what I believe, but they reflect important ways of thinking about critical issues around integrity.

I hope you will enjoy the blog posts and videos in this series and send comments to help me refine it further.

Above all, I hope I have made a contribution to the important debate about what we need to do to improve trust among us.

—Stu Brody

Stu is Founder of IntegrityIntensive (www.integrityintensive.com), a consulting firm concentrating on ethics, integrity, and leadership training. His speeches and workshops have brought his insights on the practice of integrity to thousands across the country.

He draws from more than thirty years as a former political leader and advisor to prominent political figures, including Presidential candidates.

In his career as a lawyer he appeared before the Supreme Court and has written numerous articles on labor relations, dispute settlement and mediation.

He has held numerous public offices including Ethics Officer for New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation. He has taught ethics at The State University of New York (SUNY) and the University of Arizona and is a Senior Scholar at SUNY's Institute for Ethics in Public Life.

Integrity Stew