Listen to Episode 02: Trust vs Integrity | The Positive Culture Podcast by Lauren Ross Design

Listen To Episode 02 of "The Positive Culture Podcast by Lauren Ross Design" Topics:

• Trust vs Integrity
• Words have a hierarchy

"Trust is the building blocks of your foundation" - Lauren Ross

TRANSCRIPT FROM:

Episode 02 on “The Positive Culture Podcast by Lauren Ross Design”

TITLE: TRUST VS INTEGRITY

Ok, pop quiz. If I were to say to you which of these is greater, Love or Faith, what would your answer be? I’ve heard people use the phrase have love and faith, or just have faith, and don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But with everything in life, there is a hierarchy. So why is there a hierarchy? Well, understanding the hierarchy of words can actually help us get from point A to point B in the most efficient way. Think of words like street signs that prevent you from driving off a cliff or through an intersection. 

So in this case, love is at the top of the hierarchy. Everything positive stems from Love, faith being one of them. So, without love it would be difficult to have faith, which means, drum roll please, the words love and faith are not equal.

So, this brings me to our topic today which is Trust vs Integrity. I think that we are in a period right now where these words seem to be very interchangeable. And this could be by design or a mistake but either way I think we need to dive deeper and understand what’s going here.

Let’s start with integrity. When we look up the current definition of integrity it states as this, ‘the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles or moral uprightness’. Ok, that sounds nice. So let’s now go back and see if that definition holds true to what it was in the past. If I look at the definition from the 1400’s it states, ‘innocence, blamelessness, chastity and purity’. Alright, if you wanted to you could build a case that there are some slight variances in the choice of phrases used but in general I think it’s safe to say there is consistency. 

Here is my issue with the word integrity. It is entirely subjective. You see, anytime we talk about morals or right vs wrong, there is too much room for opinion.  Now yes, I’m sure there are some obvious topics we could come to agree are not a good idea. And there’s no reason to even discuss those topics. So please understand I’m not saying there isn’t a difference between right and wrong. But what I am saying is the word integrity is subjective. If one person sitting in a country thinks that they have the right morals or high morals, someone sitting in another country could completely disagree. Or, let’s bring it closer to home. You might think you have the right morals and your neighbor across the way completely disagrees. In fact, your neighbor might think you’re completely crazy. Now there’s some food for thought. 

Let’s move onto trust. You know what I like about trust, before we even get into the definition the word ‘Us’ is sitting right in the middle of the word trust. Why is this important, because it’s telling us that trust is not singular. For there to be trust there is an acknowledgment between a minimum of 2 entities. And! This is my favorite part that even still applies when you are staying you trust yourself. Without diving into a philosophy class, the fact that we have the conscious awareness to say I trust myself, implies there is a being or self outside of yourself that has the capacity to observe and make a judgement call. So, for trust to exist there has to be agreement between 2 entities whether with someone or yourself. Let’s look at the current definition, trust is ‘a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability or strength of someone or something’. Ok that’s the current definition, let’s now go way back in history. In the 1200’s the definition of trust was in general this, ‘fidelity, reliance on veracity or other virtues of someone or something, to be firm, solid, steadfast’. Now I don’t know about you but trust does not sound subjective to me. Of course, could someone or something fail at being trustworthy, absolutely, but the failure would not be caused because the matter at hand was subjective. There’s a big difference. 

Let's take a pause. I want to share a story with you. Before I founded my company Lauren Ross Design I was an executive at a large corporation for 10 years. And yes you heard that correctly, I was with the same company for 10 years which is practically unheard of today, especially for my generation which is Millennial. And as a side note, I truly believe the concept of hoping from company to company started with millennials. But, how was I with the same company for 10 years? I built trust. Did I build integrity, for sure, but again integrity is subjective. I built a reputation from building trust. Trust with members in the corporation, and trust with companies that did business with the corporation. 

And this brings me to the point of todays topic. Just as we said Love is higher than Faith. Trust is higher than integrity. Trust is the building blocks of your foundation. Trust is not an opinion and it is not subjective. Can it fail yes, like anything else in life there might be a moment where it doesn’t work perfectly but unlike integrity, it can’t be served up on a platter for a discussion of opinion. 

Trust is everywhere. It’s important to the oldest generation walking this planet down to the youngest generation. And if I haven’t convinced you yet, listen to this.

We trust the sun will come up tomorrow.

We trust that this planet will keep running all by itself, because don’t forget we’re not the ones that created plant life, animals, oxygen, water, and on and on.

We trust that our hearts will keep beating.

We trust our ability to breath without thinking about it.

A marriage or partnership is built on trust.

A parent to child relationship is at its strongest when there is trust.

Business partners achieve the highest goals when there is trust.

Societies that support and protect each other are built on the premise of trust.

A baby has to trust its caregiver.

A patient has to trust their surgeon.

A homeowner trusts their builder.

I could keep going but I think you get the point.

Here is what I find fascinating, because trust is a constant for all ages, from a 95 year old down to a 3 year old, but integrity does not hold the same weight, value or meaning, why would a company or person use the word integrity over trust? Is it intentional or is there a lack of understanding? I would be very curious to hear everyone’s opinion on that. But either way, what I want you to take away from this talk is this. Words have a hierarchy. And how and when you use them are crucial to success. When I built Lauren Ross Design I specifically made myself the face of the brand because like I said trust is the building blocks any foundation. I stand by my company front and center for all to see. I wear Lauren Ross Design products everyday not just because I love it, which I do, but because it all boils down to trust. Think about this, If someone produced a soft drink but never drank it, would you want to drink it? Just a thought.

And I will leave you with this. The next time you’re interacting with someone, whether it be a friend, coworker or family member, try to make a conscious effort to focus on building trust vs emphasizing integrity and I think you’ll be surprised by the new thoughts and interactions that begin to form.

Ok so that’s it, there you have it trust vs integrity. And now you have sharper tools to use those words in a more efficient way when you go out into the world. Listen guys, have an amazing day, I know you will, I love you all, I’m sending positive thoughts your way. Don’t forget to check out laurenrossdesign.com, we have so many products to explore through, beauty, fashion, accessories, art, canvas wraps, paintings. For those of you that like to do your holiday shopping early trust me now is the time, so check out laurenrossdesign.com. And guys find me on social media, please do not be shy drop a comment, ask a question…and until later, Stay Positive.

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