Integrity—more than simple honesty, it's the key to success. A person with integrity has the ability to pull everything together, to make it all happen no matter how challenging the circumstances. Drawing on experiences from his work, Dr. Henry Cloud, a clinical psychologist, leadership coach, corporate consultant and nationally syndicated radio host, shows how our character can keep us from achieving all we want to (or could) be. In Integrity , Dr. Cloud explores the six qualities of character that define integrity, and how people with integrity: Are able to connect with others and build trust - Are oriented toward reality - Finish well - Embrace the negative - Are oriented toward increase - Have an understanding of the transcendent Integrity is not something that you either have or don't, but instead is an exciting growth path that all of us can engage in and enjoy. “Dr. Henry Cloud is an expert in helping leaders see hos their character development is essential to their effectiveness.” - Denis Beausejour, Consultant and former Global Vice President of Marketing, The Procter & Gamble Company “Let Henry Cloud teach you how to live an authentic life. This is a must-read!” - Ken Blanchard, Co-Author, The One-Minute Manager “Dr. Cloud will show you how to produce the results you are looking for in your work and personal life.” - Dr. Phil McGraw, #1 New York Times bestselling author and host of the Dr. Phil show “[Integrity] lays out a transparent way to be a terrific leader by drawing on and improving your best traits.” - New York Times Integrity—more than simple honesty, it's the key to success. A person with integrity has the ability to pull everything together, to make it all happen no matter how challenging the circumstances. Drawing on experiences from his work, Dr. Henry Cloud, a clinical psychologist, leadership coach, corporate consultant and nationally syndicated radio host, shows how our character can keep us from achieving all we want to (or could) be. In Integrity , Dr. Cloud explores the six qualities of character that define integrity, and how people with integrity: Are able to connect with others and build trust - Are oriented toward reality - Finish well - Embrace the negative - Are oriented toward increase - Have an understanding of the transcendent Integrity is not something that you either have or don't, but instead is an exciting growth path that all of us can engage in and enjoy. Dr. Henry Cloud is an acclaimed leadership expert, psychologist, and New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over twenty million copies. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BS in psychology and completed his PhD in clinical psychology at Biola University. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.  Integrity The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality By Henry Cloud HarperCollins Publishers Copyright © 2008 Henry Cloud All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060849696 Chapter One the three essentials my friend, being the obsessive mother that she is, asked me for a favor. She and her husband have two boys, who at the time were nineteen and twenty-one, and at that point in life where they were staring adulthood right in the face. I think she wanted to make sure that it was not they who blinked, so she asked me to perform that kind of end-around move whereby you parent your kids secretly through someone else without their knowing what hit them. We were having dinner one night when she said, "Would you take the boys out for lunch and talk to them about success? They have been asking a lot of questions about how some people become so successful, and how they make it 'big.' I thought you could help give them some guidance while they were in the asking mode." "Hmm," I said, "probably not. That's really not my field, success. I don't know much about it, so I wouldn't really know what to say. Why don't you call Zig Ziglar?" I was thinking about all of that literature with principles of success, how to make it big, how to reach the top, etc., and that was just not an area where I spent a lot of time. So, I politely declined, hoping a little humor would get her off this track. " Oh, come on ," she protested. "They are twenty years old. You know enough to give them some things to think about. You have done a lot of things and worked with a lot of successful people. How hard can this be? Just take them out and tell them something . It doesn't have to be that perfect, just give them some things to think about. Push them a little in the right direction." Feeling that I had been a little dismissive of the idea, I relented. "OK, I'll take them out and tell them something." "Great! What will you tell them?" she immediately asked. "I don't know. I'll have to think about it and come up with something." "Yeah, but what do you think that will be?" "I don't know," I repeated. "I'll think about it and give them something that will at least get them thinking." "Yeah,