Is Integrity Overrated? – Episode 59

Phil posted a Facebook status recently and got some flak for writing, “Thinking you have some integrity is like saying you can be kinda pregnant.”

If you’ve been in business for awhile, you’ve probably been measured quite a bit on how well you’re delivering on your word, your promise, your value proposition and so on. In today’s episode, Phil and I share contrasting definitions of integrity, why we feel it’s a touchy subject, and what we believe is the real issue behind the lack of integrity in today’s business climate.

 

Watch the show (uncensored & unedited) 

Share Some Shut Up Love –> We are who we are. We’re not who we’re not. – @PhilGerb #shutupshow (click to tweet)

Shut Up Tips:

Often we only lean on the morality side of integrity because then we can pass judgment on others who we feel aren’t acting in integrity. – Phil

Sometimes I say I’m gonna do stuff and I miss. It’s because I’m not in integrity, meaning my word isn’t always as true as I say it is. – Phil

Integrity isn’t good or bad. It just is. You’re either in it or you’re not in it. – Phil

Reliability is often a big concern of people and that can happen as a result of integrity. – Phil

You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (via Berni)

Not only do we not wanna be wrong, we don’t want to be challenged. – Phil

It’s hard to always be in integrity or always live up to your word, because we’re human. We don’t want to be held in integrity every single moment of every single day. – Phil

Always and never are terrible words because they’re almost always never correct. They’re stereotypical and meaning-filled words that try to determine absolute wrong and right. – Phil

What’s right for my business may not be right for yours, but it’s right for me. And if I act in accordance, I like to think I’m of integrity as long as it’s consistent every time even though I know I probably won’t be. – Phil

Even though I’ve never promised anybody I was going to be a certain way, that’s the expectation society has set on me and sometimes I feel pressure to be perfect. – Berni

I finally started to realize I can swear if I want to, I can like make up if I want to, I can cut my hair if I want to, I can talk about my mom if I want to… you can’t tell me I can’t because I’m a life coach. – Berni

Stop saying Christians are hypocritical. Humans are hypoctical. People who go to church are humans. – Phil

When you do accept the responsibility, you are what’s right and what’s wrong. – Phil

It’s easy to make excuses and pass blame on others. Be mindful and aware and take responsibility. – Berni

The older I get, the more I realize I’m just like my parents. Being mindful of that and knowing what you’re getting into helps. Now when my mom gets on my nerves, my reaction in my gut might be different than my response. – Berni

Make less commitments. That helps you focus on doing the right things. When you’re out of integrity with yourself, you probably have trouble sleeping at night. If it’s not the flu, it’s probably integrity knocking at the door. – Phil

Berni & Phil Recommend:

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) – by don Miguel Ruiz

 

What’s your take on integrity? Do you think it’s overrated?

Leave us a comment below…

 

Photo credit: Tit Bonač