Legendary management consultant Peter Drucker once quipped, 

Culture eats strategy for breakfast.

By this he meant organizational culture—the set of unconscious beliefs a group of people share—will ultimately drive group behavior more than any plans they make.

Likewise, you could say about individuals, 

Identity eats determination for breakfast.

By this I mean your identity—your core values and sense of who you are—will ultimately drive your behavior more than your fleeting willpower or futile plans.

When we first discussed the elements of trustworthiness, we identified Authenticity and Dependability together as the Integrity Elements. As we worked our way around the model alphabetically through the Service Elements, reconnecting Dependability with Authenticity brings things full circle. 

This is one of the reasons following the ABCD model in order is so effective. Dependability is built on a foundation of the other three elements. You can make promises that spring from your core values (Authenticity), are truly helpful (Benevolence), and align with your skills and knowledge (Competence). 

Promise loops that align with who you are, who you love, and what you’re good at are both more meaningful and much easier to close.

Okay, that sounds good in theory, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like you get to choose your promises. For example, I used to work for Walmart and they have a cultural artifact called “The Sundown Rule” which requires all associates to respond to internal messages within 24 hours. 

I am not a naturally responsive person. I like to take my time with things and let them incubate. And, yes, by “let them incubate” I often mean “procrastinate.” Regardless, I didn’t like this “rule,” and I struggled to comply with it.

However, one of my core values is human dignity. Once I looked at responsiveness as a way to dignify other people, it became much easier to close this cultural promise loop.

For Reflection: How can you link one of your promises to one of your core values?

Update: 42,981 words 

I’ve written 42,981 manuscript words out of a goal of 60,000. That puts me about 72% complete with the first draft, which is 6% more than last week.

Writing was sporadic this week due to traveling and teaching breaking up my usual routines, but, as usual, engaging with three dozen or so leaders has stoked my confidence in the validity and necessity of this work!