Great Lakes Training & Consulting
The Lighthouse - An E-Newsletter
January 2009
In May 2008, I wrote a post to my blog about how character matters in the world of business. I wrote about Tim Solso, Chairman and CEO of Cummins, a global power company. In an interview in Northwest Airlines World Traveler magazine, Mr. Solso stated that their financial performance over the last five years has been better than any other time in their history. Sales have doubled and 2007 was their fourth straight year of record revenues. A large part of this transformation has occurred because the company moved from a “best efforts” culture to a performance ethic. Employees are judged on whether they did what they said they would do, regardless of the challenges they faced.
“Former Chairman, J. Irwin Miller, established the framework for the core values by which we operate today,” said Solso. “Mr. Miller encouraged us to use a simple self-test when deciding on the right course of action: Ask yourself if you would be embarrassed to have your family members learn of your actions or have them reported on the front page of the local newspaper, if so, then don’t do it.”
Solso went on the say, “Virgil Solso, my father, taught me the three most important lessons of my life: to treat all people with dignity and respect, to do your best every time, and to be true to your personal values. Mr. Miller once told me that when it comes to selecting talent and evaluating people, character matters most. Over the years, I have come to understand what he meant. Character is the primary attribute I look for in a leader.”
This need for character has become more apparent with recent events. Matt Apuzzo of the Associated Press reported that the banks that have been loaned billions of taxpayer dollars in the “Wall Street Bailout” say they can’t track where the money they were loaned has gone. Thomas Kelly, a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion, said “some of the money had been lent, some had not.” The bank has not given any accounting of exactly how the money is being used. “We have not disclosed that to the public. We’re declining to.”
So they want the money, our money, but they feel no need to let us know how our money is being used. This is where character comes into the scenario.
Dylan Ratigan, a reporter and commentator on CNBC’s Fast Money was interviewed on “Morning Joe” with Joe Scarborough. In this interview Ratigan said that the banks and other financial institutions have no legal obligation to disclosed how the money is being used. The TARP Act does not require any reporting. However, he went on to say that while they don’t have a legal obligation, they have a moral obligation to report how these taxpayer dollars are being used.
I look at J. Irwin Miller’s philosophy. Would Thomas Kelly’s mother have been proud to read his statement in her local paper? How about Virgil Solso’s advice to his son? Are these financial leaders treating the taxpayers with dignity and respect? Are they doing their best every time? Are they being true to the values their parents tried to teach them?
In my workshop, Dimensions of Leadership, I teach the Army’s leadership model of what a leader must Be, KNOW, and DO. The U.S. Army says an Army leader must be of strong character and an example of individual values. The U.S. Army’s values are:
- Loyalty - Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit, and other soldiers
- Duty - Fulfill your obligations
- Respect - Treat other people as they should be treated
- Selfless Service - Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own
- Honor - Live up to all of the Army values
- Integrity - Do what’s right, legally and morally
- Personal Courage - Face fear, danger, or adversity (Physical or Moral)
As I look at the performance of these business leaders, I wonder how readily a soldier would have been to follow them into battle.
Where did many of our business leaders get this arrogance, that they don’t have to answer to anyone? There are better leaders out there, I have met them! If we intend to keep our nation great and continue to be the strongest economy in the world we must do better - CHARACTER MATTERS!
Traditionally the new year is a time for New Year’s Resolutions. Let’s make a New Year’s Resolution to make 2009 the year for character and resolve to conduct ourselves and our businesses with the values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage!