Book Review: "Integrity"

Integrity is an excellent, thought provoking book on a subject of great importance. Often, we don't realize the importance of living lives of integrity. Dr. Cloud challenges us to think about integrity in three different areas: Competencies (the things we do), Relationships (our interactions with people), and character (who we are).

Integrity, Cloud, Henry, Harper Collins, New York, N.Y., 2006

An illustration that stuck with me is what he calls the Concept of the Wake. Like a boat, a person leaves a wake behind them for all to see. On one side of the wake is the competencies (this is the task side of our life); the other side is the relationships side. The wake is the results of our tasks and our relationships and it does not lie. Dr. Cloud suggests that problems are rarely caused by the task side. This is why we should focus on becoming persons of integrity in our relationships. This is where our character comes in.

Dr. Cloud focuses on different areas of character building. One area is the importance and ability to connect authentically with people. He spends three chapters giving some practical ways to do this. He reminds us that the biggest trust killer of all is invalidation, which is communicated by poor listening, interruptions, etc…

Another area of focus is the ability to see the truth, to face reality. We must pursue truth aggressively and honestly about the external world, ourselves, and about others. Lack of reality creates an inaccurate map for us to live our lives by. Unfortunately, many people fool themselves by refusing to look at reality.

Dr. Cloud also focused on how character embraces problems. Here’s a quote, “Nothing good is going to happen if you can’t deal with the bad things that are going to happen.” He spends some time talking about the need for those with character to have a desire for growth. This requires energy, which is the fuel; and a template, which is the set of principles that shape the direction of growth.

Overall, this is an excellent read and resource for personal growth. Most of the thoughts were not knew, yet served as a reminder that we must stay focused on the things to will make us men and women of integrity.

Ron Aguilera
www.santarosasda.org