#102 – Integriosity – The Roadmap

ESSENCE:  Over the last two years, we have laid out a model for moving toward what we call Integriosity®–faithfully “doing right” through business an better way.  It is time to pause, take a breath and look back over the last 101 posts. We believe these last 100 posts have honored our promise to you from post #001. Integrous is here to help you begin executing and keep executing “business a better way” in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities–we believe it is time to seek an “ancient path” referenced in Jeremiah 6:16–to begin faithfully “doing right”In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “The time is always right to do the right thing.”

It was January 29, 2020 when Integriosity post #001 (The Foundation) was published.  Over the last two years, we have laid out a model for moving toward what we call Integriosity–faithfully “doing right” through business an better way.  It is time to pause, take a breath and look back over the last 101 posts.  This is what we said we would be doing back in post #001:

We believe there are many leaders who are guided by the Bible in their personal lives and sincerely want to live an integrated faith life at work. They have heard about “faith/work integration” in a sermon or conference or book and genuinely want to pursue God’s purpose for their work and for the people and organizations they lead.

Sadly, many are confused or frustrated or even intimidated. Some have given up. Others think they are doing it, but they are actually missing the mark. These problems frequently are the result of hearing a misguided message, an incomplete message or a purely theological message (and then wondering how it practically applies “back at the office”).  Many fall into what has been called the “knowing-doing gap”.

There is an answer–we call it Integriosity®. In these blog posts, we will explain the need for a different approach to faith/work integration (the faith and work movement has been around for 90 years, yet 90% of workers are not mobilized for their employers), debunk the “myths” that create confusion, frustration and intimidation, identify the “faith as usual” misses we call “Agonizing”, “Individualizing”, “Monetizing”, “Cosmeticizing”, “Prosperitizing” and “Interimizing”, and explain the path to Integriosity and its fruit. Integriosity is a new word, but these are not new ideas.  It is going back to Biblical basics and then rolling up our sleeves to see how to actually implement them “back at the office” in a way that humanizes people, beautifies the world and glorifies God.  It is seeking an “ancient path” referenced in Jeremiah 6:16.

It seems like a time to step back and try to see how the pieces come together to shape a better way to lead organizations–a better way to work.

INTEGRIOSITY: An Index To the Roadmap
  • LEGS OF THE JOURNEY
    • THE BASICS. We began our journey with a few posts laying out the basics of Integriosity (#001-#006).
    • THE RUBBLE. We then spent 30 posts (#007-#036) digging through the rubble of “work” to understand: the need for a better way, several attributes of business as usual, the problems inherent in business as usual, several attributes of work as usual, five Placebos we call faith as usual and the Side Road detours down which they can send the leader seeking the ancient path of faith/work integration, and the problems inherent in getting stuck on a Side Road.
    • THE FOUR STEPS TO INTEGRIOSITY
      • Renew. The next 34 posts (#038-#071) built the essential bridge of a RENEWED mind that allows us to move from “business as usual” to “business a better way”.  At Integrous, we believe it would have been a waste of time to explore RE-IMAGINE or RE-ALIGN (the second and third steps of Integriosity) without a solid understanding of the Biblical principles that form the foundation of “business a better way”.  Crossing to RE-IMAGINE also required five “mind-shifts” to reveal misconceptions that frequently send leaders down a Side Road.
      • Re-Imagine. In the 13 posts that followed (#072-#084), we explored how to use that RENEWED understanding to begin to RE-IMAGINE an organization in a way that leads to faithfully “doing right” through business a better way. 
      • Re-Align.  We then spent 9 posts (#085-#093) diving into the five key ingredients needed in order to RE-ALIGN an organization with a RE-IMAGINED Purpose, Vision and Culture.
      • Restore.  Our final 8 posts (#094-#101) looked at the fruit of a RE-ALIGNED organization–the fruit that can be seen in People, in the Organization and in Work Relationships.  It is people Humanized, the world Beautified and God Glorified.

Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)

INTEGRIOSITY: The Detailed Roadmap
  • THE BASICS
  • THE RUBBLE.
    • THE NEED
      • Work is Broken (#007)
      • Workplaces are Broken (#008)
      • Workers are Breaking (#009)
      • The Three Gaps To Cross in Faith/Work Integration (#010)
        • Sunday/Monday
        • Sacred/Secular
        • Knowing/Doing
    • ATTRIBUTES OF “BUSINESS AS USUAL” (#012)
    • PROBLEMS WITH “BUSINESS AS USUAL”
      • Profit as Purpose (#017)
        • Ignores other Key Types of Capital
        • Works Against Shalom
        • Devalues Human Dignity
      • Scarcity Assumption:  Devoid of Trust in God (#018)
      • Self-Interest Assumption:  Does Not Prioritize Community (#018)
      • Not a Path to “A Better Way” (#018)
    • ATTRIBUTES OF “WORK AS USUAL” (#019)
    • “FAITH AS USUAL” PLACEBOS (#024)
      • The “4-Hour Content” Pill (#025)
      • The “Save and Give” Pill (#026)
      • The “Add Some Faith” Pill (#027)
      • The “Bless You” Pill (#028)
      • The “Success First” Pill (#029)
    • “Faith as Usual” Side Roads
    • PLACEBO PROBLEMS (#036)
      • Missed Purpose
      • Missed Calling
      • Missed Flourishing
      • Increased Misery
      • Increased Hypocrisy
      • Unsustainability
  • THE FOUR STEPS OF INTEGRIOSITY
    • RENEW
      • The Bridge from “As Usual” to “A Better Way” (#037)
      • Biblical Principles
        • Management Matters (#038)
        • Keep First Things First
          • Overview (#039)
          • Righteousness
            • Levels of “Good” (#040)
            • More than “Good” (#041)
            • More than “Do the Right Thing” (#042)
            • Need for Authenticity (#043)
            • Living Generously (#044)
          • Kingdom
            • Bigger Gospel (#045)
            • Lessons from Creation – Why We Are Here (#046)
            • Lessons from Creation – Imago Dei (#047)
            • Lessons from Creation – Work is Good (#048)
            • Lessons from Creation – Work is Necessary (#049)
            • Where We Are Going – A Restored City (#050)
            • Where We Are Going – We Have a Role (#051)
            • Role of Work Business and Redemption (#052)
          • Love
            • Loving Generously – Faithful Presence (#053)
            • Loving Generously – Being “Godly” (#054)
            • Loving by Serving – Nature of Work (#055)
            • Loving by Serving – Nature of Business (#056)
            • Loving by Serving – Purpose of Work and Business (#057)
            • Respect and Sustainability – God’s Limits (#058)
            • What About Profit? (#059)
          • Humility
            • A First Thing (#060)
            • A “HOW” of Righteousness (#061)
            • A “HOW” of Loving Others (#062)
            • A “HOW” of Pursuing the Kingdom (#063)
            • A Key to Wisdom (#064)
        • Four Principles and Eight Keys (#065)
      • Five Key Mind-Shifts (#066)
        • Mind-Shift #1–The “WHAT” of Integration (#067)
        • Mind-Shift #2–The “WHO” of Leaders (#068)
        • Mind-Shift #3–The “WHY” of Business (#069)
        • Mind-Shift #4–The “HOW” of Integration (#070)
        • Mind-Shift #5–The “WHEN” of Integration (#071)
    • RE-IMAGINE
      • The Bridge from RENEW (#072)
      • Alignment (#073)
      • Purpose
      • Foundation
      • Implementation
        • Culture (#078)
        • Culture, Purpose and Values (#079)
        • Culture of Shalom (#080)
        • Culture and Products (#081)
        • Culture and Capital (#082)
        • Culture and Governance (#083)
        • Culture and People (#084)
    • RE-ALIGN
      • The Bridge from RE-IMAGINE (#085)
      • Flexible Approach (#086)
      • Intentional Leaders
        • Commitment to WHO Identity (#087)
        • Commitment to Bigger WHY (#088)
        • Commitment to Cultivating Culture (#089)
        • Commitment to Authenticity (#090)
      • Trust (#091)
      • Prayer (#092)
      • Patience (#093)
    • RESTORE
      • The Bridge from RE-ALIGN (#094)
      • The Fruit (#095)
      • People (#096)
      • Organizations (#097)
      • Work Relationships (#098)
      • People Humanized (#099)
      • World Beautified (#100)
      • God Glorified (#101)

We believe these last 100 posts have honored our promise to you from post #001.

Integrous is here to help you begin executing “business a better way” in alignment with Biblical beliefs, values and priorities–we believe it is time to begin faithfully “doing right” through Integriosity.  In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, “The time is always right to do the right thing.”

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM):   When I started this blog in January 2020, I had no idea that a new Matrix movie was in the works.  (I also didn’t know a global pandemic was right around the corner.)  The original is one of my favorite movies.  Although some may disagree, I believe it is filled with Christian symbolism.  My favorite scene is when Morpheus offers Neo a choice.  We all make choices every day in how we are going to work and lead.  Max Depree said “Unless somebody articulates something different, you are going to adopt a secular standard without even thinking about it.”

Some New Canaan Society brothers are producing a film about choices called Blue Jacket.  The “sizzle” teaser (watch it at the link below) says: “A single choice; altered destiny; inescapable consequences; with each choice . . . a different path; with each path . . . a different outcome; the choice is yours; choose wisely.”

We encourage you to watch (or rewatch) this classic clip from The Matrix:

  • We call the blue pill “Business as Usual“.
  • We call the red pill “Business a Better Way“.

Your choice.

The Matrix

Copyright © 2021 Integrous LLC.  Integriosity is a registered Service Mark of Integrous LLC.

Photo Credit: Original photo by Majestic Lukas on Unsplash (photo cropped)

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