Adopting the Culture of Integrity
Becoming a part of our community of builders means adopting our culture of Integrity. A question we often hear then is, ‘What does that mean about the way I treat my clients and staff, and suppliers in the everyday operation of my building business?’ Exploring the implications for how you treat clients, staff, and suppliers in your daily operations.
Builders have nowhere to hide if they do the wrong thing to their clients and we believe that is a good thing. Integrity is not justifying your position by saying, ‘Well it’s not in the contract’. Integrity starts with honoring your word.
Balancing financial success and Integrity in a new home-building business
Can a new home-building business have it all? Can a successful builder have both financial success and act with Integrity? Peter Drucker says, ‘Every organization must be prepared to abandon everything it does to survive in the future’.
By examining the possibility of achieving financial success while acting with integrity and Considering Peter Drucker's perspective on organizational adaptability for survival.
Leadership around Integrity to fix business crises and ensure success.
What ordinary builders can do to fix the crisis their business is in and remake their business success starts with leadership around Integrity. Integrity demands that we do the right thing, not just the thing we have committed to.
Re-imagining a different future for your business.
It all starts with re-imagining a different future for your business. If you continue on the path you are on, your future will look very similar to your past.
Leaders with Integrity are always framing conversations with their team that demonstrate the difference between what we are doing and what we must do. Integrity will always be encouraging builders to envision a different future for their businesses.
Reshaping the Future through Integrity
A present situation can seem hard or even impossible, but the future can be different. If we stop doing what is expedient and start doing things with Integrity, we can reshape the future for ourselves and our building business.
Building Integrity into everything we do
We must build Integrity into everything we do. We must do what we say we are going to do. That applies both to what we say to ourselves and what we say to others.
An example we sometimes see is a builder that says, ‘I’m going to systemize my business so I can get off the tools one day’. But when it comes to implementing a system, the wheels fall off because it's actually a challenging process to learn a new way of doing things.
The importance of Integrity and accountability for change
Can you imagine the damage a builder does when he commits to a client that their home will be completed by a certain date and then goes about focusing on other projects and misses achieving the committed date? The client becomes frustrated, and your team becomes cynical.
Without Integrity, nothing works or changes. Integrity is fostered in an environment of accountability. When builders make commitments and then don’t follow through, relationships are left confused and damaged.
Maintaining Integrity through commitments and problem-solving
A better solution is to never commit to a date with a client until the date is so certain that your integrity can be always maintained.
Builders with Integrity know that if they have given their word and then something happens that keeps them from keeping their word, they honor their word by cleaning up the problem and restoring the affected client, supplier, or staff member.
Understanding Integrity as being whole and complete
Integrity is the quality of being whole and complete. We are not the moral police holding our builders to some high moral standard.
Think of Integrity as being about substance, not morality or perfection. Cleaning up a past situation that lacks Integrity is a great place to start this journey.We always encouraging builders to start their integrity journey by addressing past situations lacking integrity.
The Leader's Role in Empowering the Team
You can’t empower your team or be held in regard by your clients and suppliers if your business is not grounded on a leader who is whole and complete. You are that leader in your building businesses, so model Integrity and show your team they can be honest and do what they know is right without cutting corners.
