Integrity is Dead. You Killed It.
A Manifesto from the Wreckage of Construction’s Moral Collapse
I’ve spoken often—loudly and unapologetically—about integrity.
Not the corporate definition.
Not the marketing version.
Not the bullshit values poster in a boardroom.
I’m talking about real integrity:
Doing what’s right when no one’s watching.
Staying true when no one agrees.
Owning your shit when it would be easier to bury it.
That kind of integrity.
The kind that’s supposed to be the foundation of construction.
After all, we build structures that people live in, work in, pray in, heal in.
We carry the weight of futures in our hands, literally.
So if any industry should be obsessed with integrity…
It’s ours.
And yet…
We sacrificed it.
We sold it.
We fucking buried it alive under profit, politics, and preservation of ego.
Look around.
It’s all theater now.
The big players, the ones with PR machines, union clout, and ties to government funding
They drape themselves in the language of “values.”
They talk about safety.
They virtue-signal mental health awareness every May.
They give keynotes on inclusion, innovation, and sustainability.
Bullshit.
It’s a shell game.
A way to gatekeep progress while pretending to champion it.
A way to hoard funding, keep outsiders out, and feed the same bloated circle of insiders.
And what do they leave in their wake?
Half-baked programs.
Leadership development sessions with zero real change.
Pilot projects with no follow-through.
And a trail of broken people who tried to do it differently and got punished for it.
I’ve had people message me privately on LinkedIn after my posts
Quietly thanking me for saying what they’re too afraid to.
They say things like:
“I’d be fired if I said this.”
“I’ve been trying to do the right thing and I’m burning out.”
“I wish I could speak up, but I have a mortgage and two kids.”
This is the cost of the industry’s fake integrity:
Silence. Fear. Isolation. Rot.
You think I'm exaggerating?
Let me ask you something:
If integrity was truly alive and well
Would we have workers dying by suicide at epidemic levels?
Would we have leaders ghosting each other after promising change?
Would we have associations acting like mouthpieces for government instead of advocates for people?
Would those of us pushing for wellness, culture, and knowledge transfer be left pushing alone?
No.
But here we are.
You know what I hear the most?
“This is exactly what the industry needs.”
If you believe that and still stay on the sidelines?
You’re complicit.
You are propping up a corpse and calling it leadership.
Integrity isn’t just dead.
You helped kill it.
And if that hits you in the gut, good.
It means there’s still something inside you that knows this industry can be better.
But here’s the truth:
We won’t get there with brand campaigns and ribbon cuttings.
We’ll get there when we stop pretending.
When we stop posturing.
When we stop rewarding cowardice and start respecting courage.
When we hold the mirror up and look long enough to see the cracks in ourselves.
Until then, I’ll keep naming names without naming names.
I’ll keep pushing.
I’ll keep calling it like it is.
Because I’d rather stand alone in truth than be celebrated in the company of liars.
P.S. I missed last Thursday’s post. Proof that I too get inundated, and lose track of things. I appreciate you understanding and showing up today!