Intentional Integrity

Silicon Valley expert Robert Chesnut shows that companies that do not think seriously about a crucial element of corporate culture—integrity—are destined to fail. “Show of hands—who in this group has integrity?” It’s with this direct and often uncomfortable question that Robert Chesnut, General Counsel of Airbnb, begins every presentation to new employees. Defining integrity is difficult. Once understood as “telling the truth and keeping your word,” it was about following not just the letter but the spirit of the law. But in a moment when workplaces are becoming more diverse, global, and connected, silence about integrity creates ambiguities about right and wrong that make everyone uncertain, opening the door for the minority of people to rationalize selfish behavior. Trust in most traditional institutions is down—government, religious organizations, and higher education—and there’s a dark cloud hovering over technology. But this is precisely where companies come in; as peoples’ faith in establishments deteriorates, they’re turning to their employer for stability. In Intentional Integrity, Chesnut offers a six-step process for leaders to foster and manage a culture of integrity at work. He explains the rationale and legal context for the ethics and practices, and presents scenarios to illuminate the nuances of thinking deeply and objectively about workplace culture. We will always need governments to manage defense, infrastructure, and basic societal functions. But, Chesnut argues, the private sector has the responsibility to use sensitivity and flexibility to make broader progress—if they act with integrity. "Rob is an insider who's combined doing good with doing business well in two iconic Silicon Valley companies. His book contains smart, practical advice for anyone looking to do good and do well.” —Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and author of Blitzscaling

‘Stop talking about bringing your values to work and learn how to actually DO it!’ – Kim Scott, bestselling author of Radical Candor Intentional Integrity, by Silicon Valley expert Rob Chestnut, provides an excellent road map for any organization looking to create a clear set of values to live by. The year 2020 triggered consumers to re-evaluate their relationship with brands in general, leading to customers prioritizing those seen to be ‘doing good’ or ‘being helpful’ in the context of the pandemic. There is a strong sentiment that businesses have a big part to play in helping society recover and a purpose-driven organization will likely have the edge. In the midst of a year of crisis, there is an opportunity for companies to re-evaluate how their businesses operate. The power to act with integrity is the key to developing this culture. Drawing on his background as former General Counsel for Airbnb, Rob Chesnut explains the rationale and legal context for the ethics and practices, and presents scenarios to illuminate the nuances of thinking deeply and objectively about workplace culture. Intentional Integrity is the handbook to revolutionizing your workplace by providing the right environment for people to do good work. ‘Smart, practical advice for anyone looking to do good and do well’ – Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and author of Blitzscaling

The integrity of knowledge that emerges from research is based on individual and collective adherence to core values of objectivity, honesty, openness, fairness, accountability, and stewardship. Integrity in science means that the organizations in which research is conducted encourage those involved to exemplify these values in every step of the research process. Understanding the dynamics that support â€" or distort â€" practices that uphold the integrity of research by all participants ensures that the research enterprise advances knowledge. The 1992 report Responsible Science: Ensuring the Integrity of the Research Process evaluated issues related to scientific responsibility and the conduct of research. It provided a valuable service in describing and analyzing a very complicated set of issues, and has served as a crucial basis for thinking about research integrity for more than two decades. However, as experience has accumulated with various forms of research misconduct, detrimental research practices, and other forms of misconduct, as subsequent empirical research has revealed more about the nature of scientific misconduct, and because technological and social changes have altered the environment in which science is conducted, it is clear that the framework established more than two decades ago needs to be updated. Responsible Science served as a valuable benchmark to set the context for this most recent analysis and to help guide the committee's thought process. Fostering Integrity in Research identifies best practices in research and recommends practical options for discouraging and addressing research misconduct and detrimental research practices.

This book reminds us when we bond our lives to truth, to the person of God in a living relationship with Him, the result is integrity. Integrity equals commitment plus truth. The example of Job is the starting point for each principle shared, but the author goes further making it personal and applicable for today. Job's fierce trial of fire refines, rather than consumed, his crown of integrity. Ten promises we must keep to live a life of integrity are shared by the author in a practical manner. The work ends with a prayer for integrity based on Job 31.

Christine M. Korsgaard presents an account of the foundation of practical reason and moral obligation. Moral philosophy aspires to understand the fact that human actions, unlike the actions of the other animals, can be morally good or bad, right or wrong. Few moral philosophers, however, have exploited the idea that actions might be morally good or bad in virtue of being good or bad of their kind - good or bad as actions. Just as we need to know that it is the function of the heart to pump blood to know that a good heart is one that pumps blood successfully, so we need to know what the function of an action is in order to know what counts as a good or bad action. Drawing on the work of Plato, Aristotle, and Kant, Korsgaard proposes that the function of an action is to constitute the agency and therefore the identity of the person who does it. As rational beings, we are aware of, and therefore in control of, the principles that govern our actions. A good action is one that constitutes its agent as the autonomous and efficacious cause of her own movements. These properties correspond, respectively, to Kant's two imperatives of practical reason. Conformity to the categorical imperative renders us autonomous, and conformity to the hypothetical imperative renders us efficacious. And in determining what effects we will have in the world, we are at the same time determining our own identities. Korsgaard develops a theory of action and of interaction, and of the form interaction must take if we are to have the integrity that, she argues, is essential for agency. On the basis of that theory, she argues that only morally good action can serve the function of action, which is self-constitution.

Self-initiation is killing our young men. Without strong mentors, boys are walking alone into a wilderness of conflicting messages about who they should be as men. It's no wonder that our sons are confused about what the world expects from them and what they should expect of themselves. The Intentional Father is the antidote. This concise book is filled with practical steps to help men raise sons of consequence--young men who know what they believe, know who they are, and will stand up against the negative cultural trends of our day. Jon Tyson lays out a clear path for fathers and sons that includes specific activities, rites of passage, and significant "marking moments" that can be customized to fit any family. It's not enough to hope our sons will become good men. We need them to be good at being men. This book shows how fathers, grandfathers, and other male mentors can lead the way.

This book encourages mindfulness as a tool for personal growth and for intentional action for the purpose of social change. Learning exercises focus on: examining privilege, oppression, and difference; intersectional identity mapping; historical racism against marginalized groups; social dominance theory; sociological mindfulness; cultural humility; appreciative inquiry; and more. Culturally Competent Engagement: A Mindful Approach embraces a fresh approach to cultivating self, other, and systems awareness for a linguistically rich and culturally diverse world. The confluence of people and cultures requires habits of mind, dispositions, skills, and values that promote diversity affirmation while simultaneously honoring one’s own cultural integrity and limitations. The benefits of being culturally competent are numerous and include healthy, holistic relationships and connection with people across differences. This book provides conceptual context for tried and true learning exercises that promote deeper self-understanding, ways to connect with people who are culturally different, and an understanding of the systems (socio-cultural, economic, political, and environmental) that circumscribe our lives. Written for organizational leaders, university instructors, students, and practitioners, this book includes typical approaches to enhancing culturally competent engagement, yet has several special features that differentiate it from approaches in other books and articles on the topic. Typical approaches to developing cultural competence focus on acquisition of communicative skills, behaviors, and dispositions needed to effectively navigate cross-cultural relationships and function effectively in multicultural environments. We include and build on these approaches by adding a layer of critical and complex systems understanding as a necessary foundation for effective cross-cultural engagement. The Self-Other-Systems approach challenges readers via concrete learning exercises that nudge one along the life-long path of culturally competent engagement. Perhaps the most unique feature of this book is the explicit and implicit mindful approach. A total of eleven learning exercises are offered, foregrounded by theory and completed with reflection questions or activities. All learning exercises encourage mindfulness, or awareness of oneself in the present moment, awareness of others, and awareness of broader contexts and forces at work in multicultural contexts. In specific, three learning exercises are meditations that can be read or listened to via free download from the book’s website.