The Non-Negotiable: Why Integrity is Onin’s True North

Onin’s VP of People and Culture asked me to write a paragraph on “Integrity”, one of our four core values for our internal website.  She wanted a paragraph, which I gave her, but I wanted to unpack my ideas more fully here.  Let’s start with a definition.

Integrity: A steadfast adherence to a coherent, rationally defensible set of moral or professional principles, even when it is costly, inconvenient, or unobserved, combined with intellectual honesty about one’s own motives or limitations.

Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Let’s break down what this actually means for us

Part 1: Your Non-Negotiables (Our Values are the True North)

We could wax philosophical, even spiritual on this issue of integrity. To really get to the heart of personal integrity, one really needs some transcendental moral standard by which one’s heart and actions can be measured. While that may be a worthwhile exploration, let’s be real, we’re here to talk about business, so we’ll focus on how integrity powers the Onin mission. 

In a business, we have a set of organizing first-principles: our values, purpose and mission that are our moral, ethical and operational “True North”. Our purpose is to create opportunity and empower people as we live our values — service, integrity, innovation, and performance. All this is done within the framework of our business mission.

When we treat the workforce better than anyone else, make raving fans out of our clients because of the service we provide, and then in turn share in the fruit of our success with all Oninites, the world is a better place. I believe these Onin first-principles are extremely coherent and defensible. We may disagree on other values, ideas or agendas but we must align with Onin’s purpose, mission & values if we want to be on the same team. That alignment is business integrity.

Part 2: When the Heat is On (Doing the Hard Thing) 

As the sage once said, “the hard thing about hard things is that they are hard.” What we do, especially when the heat is on, defines us. We can craft a coherent, rational set of moral principles and talk all day about values, but we must do the thing or we are hypocrites. Alanis Morissette would find it quite ironic for us to not live out our values, since one of those values is integrity!  Talk is cheap.  

Difficult circumstances are the crucible of integrity. This means full-hearted service toward that belligerent applicant, delivering excellence for that high maintenance client and taking the high-road with that overbearing fellow Oninite. It means always looking for a better way to do my job even when I’m already meeting expectations. It’s being a leader who makes the moves that need to be made in order to perform even if it is uncomfortable. Sturdy and stalwart in the storm—that is integrity.

Part 3: No Bull (The Power of Radical Honesty)

One of the most distinctive (and often under-appreciated) parts of integrity is radical intellectual honesty about one’s own limitations, biases, blind spots, and past failures. In religious terms this is “humility before God.” In secular terms it’s simply refusing to pretend you are more objective, knowledgeable, virtuous, or consistent than you actually are.

Here’s why this particular kind of honesty is inseparable from real integrity:

1. It prevents self-deception from corroding the whole structure. If one quietly believes “I’m the exception” or “I meant well, so it doesn’t count,” they’ve already introduced a fracture between their stated principles and actual practice. Over time that fracture widens into full-blown hypocrisy. Acknowledging limitations is the immune system that keeps the organism of integrity healthy.
2. It protects against motivated reasoning. People lose integrity most often not by openly deciding to be dishonest, but by unconsciously twisting evidence or standards so they can keep a flattering self-image. Admitting “I’m prone to favor information that makes me look good” or “I have a conflict of interest here” is an integrity-preserving move because it forces you to install safeguards (second opinions, disclosure, recusal, etc.).
3. It’s the only way consistency remains sustainable long-term. Nobody is perfect. Everyone eventually fails to live up to their own standards. The person of integrity doesn’t hide the failure or rationalize it away. They own it publicly when appropriate, make amends, and adjust practices to reduce the chance of repeat failure. That public ownership is itself an act of integrity.
4. It earns trust that mere rule-following never can. Paradoxically, the leader, friend, or co-worker who says “Here’s where I’ve been wrong,” “Here’s where I’m biased,” or “I don’t actually know” is trusted far more than the one who projects flawless consistency. Why? Because the admission proves the alignment between their words and reality is more important to them than their image.

Integrity is not the same as infallibility. It’s the commitment to keep the gap between who you claim to be and who you actually are as small as humanly possible—and to be the first one to acknowledge and close that gap when it appears. That refusal to self-deceive or self-aggrandize is what turns ordinary consistency into deep, resilient integrity.

Look, this is hard work. Integrity isn’t a one-time decision; it’s a constant grind. But it’s the non-negotiable foundation of who we are and why we win. Keep yourself in check, be honest, and let’s keep crushing it. Onward and upward!”