Building a Culture of Integrity
Building a Culture of Integrity

Summary/Abstract: The 2019 scandal in U.S. Ivy League schools, where wealthy parents bribed officials at Yale, Stanford or Georgetown to secure access for their offspring, is only the tip of the iceberg. In a complex world of cyberspace, global markets and virtual organizations, the temptation to cut corners is everywhere—leaders in all walks of life can get away with cheating, lying or corruption. (Corruption has been around ever since there has been money. That doesn’t mean money is bad; it just means people get a bit weak-kneed around it.) What many leaders fail to realize: The way to gain real power is not through a big job title, wealth, authority or the corner office, but through integrity—defined here as honoring your word and leading by example. Close the gap between word and deed, and between tomorrow’s vision and today’s action. It is all about walking the talk—an unadulterated match of words and deeds. This article, based in part on the author’s books The Rabbi and the CEO and Strategy-In-Action, goes beyond individual integrity and explores how leaders and organizations can build cultures and systems of integrity. The article offers cases of best practices from Microsoft to Xerox, and worst practices from Enron to Dieselgate.

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