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A Deep Dive Into Integrity

Exploring Its True Meaning

When companies publish their core values, the word "integrity" probably appears more frequently than any other virtue. In a world of scams and shams, businesses feel a need to offer assurance that they comply with the highest standards.

For all this talk of integrity, however, it's striking how rarely we dig into the meaning of the word. I hear the term tossed around in corporate settings with regularity. But when I start asking people to define for me, their answers are often a bit tentative and imprecise.

Indeed, the most frequent response fundamentally equates integrity with honesty and living up to your word. I have no quarrel with these replies — as far as they go. They simply don't go far enough. While being honest and true to our word is a vital element of integrity, they only partially account for its meaning.

I've therefore taken this episode to do a deep dive into what genuine integrity entails. And in the process, I examine the important connection between integrity and character.