The Law of Small Things: Creating a Habit of Integrity in a Culture of Mistrust

“An engaging study in contradiction. It is easily readable and full of real-life examples of truthfulness and values-driven action—or the lack thereof.” —Mary C. Gentile, PhD, author of Giving Voice to Values

We are living in a time when dishonesty and duplicity are common in our public institutions, our workplaces, and even in our personal relationships. But by recognizing and resisting the small, seemingly inconsequential ways we make moral compromises in our own lives, we can repair the tear in our social and moral fabric.

The Law of Small Things begins with an IQ (Integrity Quotient) test designed to reveal the casual way we regard our promises and the misconceptions we have about acting truthfully. It depicts these and other deceptions we deploy to appear to act with integrity without actually doing so.

The Law of Small Things also exposes how our culture encourages breaches of integrity through an array of “permitted promise-breaking,” a language of clichés that equates self-interest with duty, and the “illusion of inconsequence” that excuses small breaches with the breezy confidence that we can fulfill integrity when it counts. 

Brody challenges the prevailing notion that integrity is a possession you hold permanently. No one “has integrity” and no one is perfect in practicing it. What we have is the opportunity to uphold promises and fulfill duties in each situation that faces us, large and small. Ultimately, developing skill in the practice of integrity leads us to knowledge of who we are—not in the way the culture defines us, but in the way we truly know ourselves to be.

Stuart Brody is the founder of IntegrityIntensive (www.integrityintensive.com), a consulting firm concentrating on decision-making, leadership training and the practice of integrity. His 35-year career as a lawyer took him before the Supreme Court and he has held numerous public offices and political leadership positiones. He is a Senior Scholar at the State University of New York's Institute for Ethics in Public Life. His speeches and workshops have brought his work to thousands of public officials across the country.