--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no such thing as a minor lapse…" description: "\"There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity\" — Tom Peters" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/tom-peters-967_integrity_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse_2112717.png" --- # There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity ![“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity” quote by Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/tom-peters-967_integrity_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse_2112717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/tom-peters-967_integrity_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse_2112717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/tom-peters-967_integrity_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse_2112717.png) > “There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity” [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Integrity is absolute; even small compromises undermine credibility. **In simple terms:** Integrity cannot be compromised. Key Takeaway Maintain consistent ethical standards. Themes ethics integrity leadership Mood serious inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - business decisions - personal choices - public policy Key Concepts moral consistency credibility Questions to Reflect On - What defines a “minor” lapse? - How to enforce integrity? A Different Perspective Minor lapses can be rationalized, eroding trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) [Lapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lapse-746513/) [Lapse Integrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lapse-integrity-4272880/) [Lapses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lapses/) [Minor Lapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minor-lapse-746512/) [Minors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minors/) [Thing Minor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-minor-485091/) ## Related quotes > [There's no such thing as a minor lapse of awareness. You're either present with what is--right here, right now--or you're someplace else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gay-hendricks/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse-of-awareness-you-re-either/) [Gay Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gay-hendricks/) > [“Once we are involved in a relationship, there is no longer any such thing as a minor detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/once-we-are-involved-in-a-relationship-there-is-no-longer-any-such/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I found my interest lapse in both acting and racing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillie-langtry/i-found-my-interest-lapse-in-both-acting-and-racing/) [Lillie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillie-langtry/) > [The lapse of ages changes all things - time, language, the earth, the bounds of the sea, the stars of the sky, and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-lapse-of-ages-changes-all-things-time-language-the-earth-the/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [The lapse of ages changes all things - time - language - the earth - the bounds of the sea - the stars of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-lapse-of-ages-changes-all-things-time-language-the-earth-the-2/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Most of the methods for measuring the lapse of time have, I believe, been the contrivance of monks and religious recluses, who, finding time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/most-of-the-methods-for-measuring-the-lapse-of-time-have-i-believe/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“Every lapse doesn’t spell doom. It’s like anything else in the growth mindset. It’s a reminder that you’re an unfinished human being and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-s-dweck/every-lapse-doesn-t-spell-doom-it-s-like-anything-else-in-the-growth/) [Carol S. Dweck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-s-dweck/) > [“There's nothing which the lapse of time will not either extinguish or improve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publius-syrus/there-s-nothing-which-the-lapse-of-time-will-not-either-extinguish-or/) [Publius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publius-syrus/) > [“The sense of security more frequently springs from habit than from conviction, and for this reason it often subsists after such a change in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-sense-of-security-more-frequently-springs-from-habit-than-from/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Lapse saamine on umbes nagu oma näo tätoveerimine. Sa pead ikka raudselt kindel olema, et see on just see, mida sa tahad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/lapse-saamine-on-umbes-nagu-oma-n-o-t-toveerimine-sa-pead-ikka/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [ “\[F\]ew people have never hurt anyone or been guilty of any serious lapse \[...\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/f-ew-people-have-never-hurt-anyone-or-been-guilty-of-any-serious-lapse/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) > [“Drawn lids one screen of skin, dreampaintings move across Day's colored dark. Tonight, in a lapse unfluttered by time, he travels what seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/drawn-lids-one-screen-of-skin-dreampaintings-move-across-day-s/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“You've got to lapse out before you can know what sensual reality is, lapse into unkowingness, and give up your volition...You've got to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/you-ve-got-to-lapse-out-before-you-can-know-what-sensual-reality-is/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [No story is the same to us after a lapse of time; or rather we who read it are no longer the same interpreters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/no-story-is-the-same-to-us-after-a-lapse-of-time-or-rather-we-who/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [A lapse in judgment is not a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-perez/a-lapse-in-judgment-is-not-a-crime/) [Eddie Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-perez/) ## More by Tom Peters > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [If, as I anticipate, a wide array of personal, portable information/communication devices becomes increasingly important and widespread for information-intensive users, it will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-as-i-anticipate-a-wide-array-of-personal-portable-information/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Anybody who is an entrepreneur is a person who essentially has impaired judgment. The odds of success are zilch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/anybody-who-is-an-entrepreneur-is-a-person-who-essentially-has/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Remember my mantra: distinct... or extinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/remember-my-mantra-distinct-or-extinct/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [A good collection is more than just the sum of its parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/a-good-collection-is-more-than-just-the-sum-of-its-parts/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Leaders' careers will usually be determined by their handling of one or two critical events that no one could possibly anticipate or plan for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/leaders-careers-will-usually-be-determined-by-their-handling-of-one/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [I don't know what it means to manage the human imagination, but I do know that imagination is the main source of value in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/i-don-t-know-what-it-means-to-manage-the-human-imagination-but-i-do/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Hire disrespectful people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/hire-disrespectful-people/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Hire for attitude. Train for skill... More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/hire-for-attitude-train-for-skill-more/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [If there is a single tragic flaw that mars our biggest enterprises, it is conservatism - the failure to fail, and fail big, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/if-there-is-a-single-tragic-flaw-that-mars-our-biggest-enterprises-it/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Think about the market, think about the design, and think about who is going to design for that market. Hit the mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/think-about-the-market-think-about-the-design-and-think-about-who-is/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [“The “Excellence Standard” is not about Grand Outcomes. In Zenlike terms, all we have is today. If the day’s work cannot be assessed as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-excellence-standard-is-not-about-grand-outcomes-in-zenlike-terms/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The day firing becomes easy is the day to fire yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-day-firing-becomes-easy-is-the-day-to-fire-yourself/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [Only pissed-off people change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/only-pissed-off-people-change-the-world/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [What you decide not to do is probably more important that what you decide to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/what-you-decide-not-to-do-is-probably-more-important-that-what-you/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) [Explore all 316 Tom Peters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) ## More Integrity quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [The Kennedys have always represented a certain royal quality, Camelot, and they represent a great deal of integrity and strength and perseverance; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-kennedys-have-always-represented-a-certain-royal-quality-camelot/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [We want to promote the great quality of athletics - and maintain it's integrity - all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-juantorena/we-want-to-promote-the-great-quality-of-athletics-and-maintain-it-s/) [Alberto Juantorena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-juantorena/) > [A man should be upright, not kept upright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/a-man-should-be-upright-not-kept-upright/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The interesting thing is that everyone in golf is just nice. You learn a lot about people playing golf: their integrity, how they play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-interesting-thing-is-that-everyone-in-golf-is-just-nice-you-learn/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/don-t-worry-so-much-about-your-self-esteem-worry-more-about-your/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [The family remains the basic unit of society and the first school in which children learn the human, spiritual and moral values which enable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-family-remains-the-basic-unit-of-society-and-the-first-school-in/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [The reason I do small, independent movies is because I want to keep my soul intact and maintain some kind of integrity within this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/the-reason-i-do-small-independent-movies-is-because-i-want-to-keep-my/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [The 'key-log' which must be moved to release the evolutionary process for an ethic is simply this: quit thinking about decent land-use as solely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/land-ethic/the-key-log-which-must-be-moved-to-release-the-evolutionary-process/) [Land ethic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/land-ethic/) [Browse all 4,810 Integrity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Peters" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse-of-integrity/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Integrity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse-of-integrity/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/tom-peters-967_integrity_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse_2112717.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/tom-peters-967_integrity_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse_2112717.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5b/tom-peters-967_integrity_there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse_2112717.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity” — Tom Peters", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tom Peters", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no such thing as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse-of-integrity/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-minor-lapse-of-integrity/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```