I was outside one recent Saturday, and I was checking on my sprinklers. As I went from station to station checking to see if the sprinklers worked, I realized that one of my sprinklers didn’t work in zone 3 while another zone 3 sprinkler was now working in zone 4. I immediately think about the work that I now have to add to my day in trying to get these sprinklers fixed. I was also confused how a sprinkler shifted zones over the winter. Nothing made sense. Work was being done on the property next door, so I thought maybe that affected my sprinklers.

The next day I started digging to try and uncover the issue. As I was digging, I noticed the sprinkler pipes were leading outside of my property. Sprinklers crossing closely to the property line next door are pretty normal in a new neighborhood. If work is being done in that other property, your pipes could get in the way. Maybe the work next door is what caused my sprinkler issues. Maybe the other landscaping company cut up a pipe and tried to repair it the best they knew how.

As I kept digging, I discovered the sprinkler pipe from my yard ran into the property next door by 10 feet. Clearly the issue.

I contacted our builder, and he had the landscaping crew out the next day to fix the whole issue. I was a bit frustrated though for a couple of reasons.

When the original work was done and it was discovered they were outside the property lines, why wasn’t the work corrected then? Why didn’t the company working in the next yard who dug up my sprinklers immediately tell me about the situation instead of trying to fix the issue causing it to be worse?

When it comes to outstanding integrity, we focus so much on telling truths versus telling lies. What about the lies of omission? Leaving out valuable information? The issue with my sprinklers could have been resolved easily if the original company had corrected their error in the beginning. It could have also been easily remedied if the company doing work on the property next door reached out to me about cutting my pipes instead of trying to fix it on their own without knowledge of the setup.

ALL WE OWN IS OUR WORD AND OUR INTEGRITY. WE SHOULD BE KNOWN FOR THAT QUALITY.

Sometimes it feels easier to blame others or to not say anything at all instead of acknowledging our errors. In reality, the “cover-up” is always worse than the error.

When working with our co-workers or our business partners it is always better to be forthright and direct up front. If an issue is discovered, take care of it right away instead of trying to hide it or wish it away. All we own is our word and our integrity. We should be known for that quality.