What do you do when your “yes” turns out to be a “no”?
The INTEGRITY, REQUEST, and TRUST PRIMES stress the criticality of being of your word. The BREACH PRIME reveals what to do when you do not keep your word.
For example, if you're late to a meeting after you committed to being on time, people will perceive your tardiness as a BREACH of INTEGRITY. Just as INTEGRITY fills the TRUST bucket, BREACH drains the TRUST bucket—and diminishes your POWER in the eyes of the group.
Despite a commitment and a willingness to maintain INTEGRITY, it's probable—perhaps even inevitable—that a BREACH will occur. When you realize that you have not been your word, you must clean things up quickly.
Acknowledge and Recommit
Step 1: Acknowledge the BREACH
“I said I'd be here at nine o'clock, and I wasn't.”
When someone acknowledges that he or she committed a BREACH, that person has taken the first step toward repair. If a person fails to acknowledge his or her BREACH, group members should point it out (see FEEDBACK). This is a way for the group to invite this person to reestablish his or her integrity and thus regain his or her power in the group. Taking a stand for someone's integrity is one of the highest acts of love and concern that group members can give each other.
Step 2: Recommit to INTEGRITY
“In the future, I'll be on time.”
That's it. No excuses; they deflect accountability and waste ...
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