Integrity in business is a big issue in the news right now. And rightfully so, with CEOs doing the "perp walk" for misreporting income or embezzling millions of dollars.

But it occurs to me that the integrity of a CEO can be measured in things much smaller than million-dollar wrong-doing. That's the case for all our relationships -- family, vendors, clients, friends.

The way I see it, our word is all we have. What we tell someone and how we follow through is everything in terms of how we define ourselves to the world.

If we tell someone we'll call them on Thursday, or be on time for a meeting, or complete a document by Friday -- and then neglect to follow through on that promise -- we're breaking our word. We're eroding the foundation of a relationship with that person.

Perhaps these are relatively small considerations in the grand scheme of things. But if I know I can trust someone to keep their word on the small things, I know they'll be there for me for the big ones. If someone breaks their word on the small stuff, I might be able to trust them with the big stuff -- but how would I know? Certainly I cut people slack for an occasional lapse, but if I start to see a pattern emerge, the flags are very red and very large.

When we're evaluating a new vendor, or contacting a new client, or hiring a new employee, we try to be intentional about looking for signs of integrity. That's not always easy, especially when the other person has something we want. We might need the client's business, the vendor's product, or the employee's talent. It's simple to look the other way and ignore a few small things when we need the big thing.

As I've been more intentional about surrounding myself with people of integrity, the quality of the people in my life has gotten better and better. If someone has integrity, I can trust them to a degree that isn't otherwise possible. And if I trust them, I can relax into the relationship and let it be.

Last year, we had to end a long-term project we had been working on. The idea was sound and we had some ardent supporters; however, we were losing a great deal of money on the effort. In halting the project, we had to let our sponsors know that the proposed three-year program would end two years early -- we simply couldn't afford to go on with the losses.

It was a disappointing, and scary, decision. After all, we were letting down several of our biggest supporters. What if we were severing those ties forever? What if they wanted their money back? I felt responsible for the lack of success, even though there were many factors at play. While we had given it our all and followed through on our promises, the project didn't come to fruition as planned.

After discussing the details with our sponsors on a group conference call, I held my breath. Finally, someone spoke up, agreeing with our decision to end the project early. I felt a wave of relief.

Then, something remarkable happened. One sponsor, then another, offered to cover the losses we had incurred. Neither had to make the offer -- they had held up their end of the bargain so far and were free to cut their losses and move on. But they chose, instead, to make the company whole.

I'm rarely speechless but I was that day. Here were two very busy CEOs running two very large organizations, who took the time to make things right for our little company. They not only kept their word, they exceeded their commitment. Now that's integrity.

Trust is the very foundation of our business.  Just like the strong men performing at the Pepsi-Cola Centennial in May, we've got to be able to count on the people that hold us up -- whether that's our vendors, our clients, our co-workers or our family.  We're fortunate to be in a community that supports good people and good ideas.  And I plan to do my part whenever possible. On that you have my word.