September 2004 Newsletter
The Unchanging Truth
A worker received his weekly paycheck and approached his employer. "This is two hundred dollars less than we agreed on," he said.
"I know," the employer said. "We overpaid you two hundred dollars last week."
"Well, I don't mind an occasional mistake," the worker replied. "When it gets to be a habit, I have to call it to your attention."
Others will know our truthfulness by the way we handle information. Do you demonstrate consistent honesty, or do your standards change depending on who can benefit from the misunderstanding?
Truth or Consequences
Someone has said, "Tell the truth, and you can forget about it. Tell a lie, and you will have to remember it forever." The truth brings freedom, but lies always entangle.
We sometimes whitewash our lies by calling them "unimportant" or by saying "everyone does it," but every lie leads directly and indirectly to more lies. And then there are the everyday exaggerations that eat away at a person's credibility. Watch out for words like always, never, best, most, and biggest because they often aren't true. Exaggerations erode a person's future trustworthiness.
The primary consequence of deception is the loss of trust. Living falsely betrays our friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else who discovers our lie. When individuals are not trustworthy, they will find themselves becoming more and more isolated.
Trust is a vital part of any lasting and meaningful relationship. Conversely, damaged trust is one of the most difficult things to restore.
Can you honestly say that you practice truthfulness in your words, attitudes, and actions? Would those who know you best say you are a truthful person? When you fail, do you correct the matter as quickly as possible?
Purpose to clear your record with others. Commit to be truthful in everything. When you
fail, admit it, and ask others to hold you accountable. Remember, the trail of truthfulness
leads to true success.
Helping People Succeed
Like most people who sell things, the people at Woodland Windows and Doors believe they
offer a superior product, but they take particular pride in how they treat people in the process.
At their sales and fabrication facility on the corner of Gary Avenue and Lake Street in Roselle, Illinois, they continue a tradition that started almost thirty-five years ago when the John Mariotti family started selling off the lumber from a railroad bridge. Over the years, the Mariotti family valued hard work and strove to show respect for other people. These values led to Woodland beginning a workplace character emphasis in 1999.
This year, Vice President Rano Mariotti made the monthly character meetings a team effort. Mariotti's goal is to make character a company-wide emphasis, not something limited to a certain type of people. "We've found that as we get more people involved, we're reaching different parts of the company," he said.
Thus, he identifies employees who demonstrate good character and who have a commitment to continued growth. Out of this group, three to five people sign up to help with each meeting. During one or two planning sessions, they then develop ideas for presenting the monthly character quality.
In the past, presenters have used skits, original PowerPoint presentations, and even movie clips to illustrate character qualities. Deby Baker from Sales Support says they try to use humor to make their point when possible. "…we've used Disney's Monsters Inc. to show a selfish office culture vs. a good office culture," she said, "Our most elaborate topic was Creativity, which we videotaped. It was a huge undertaking with an elaborate skit."
Steve Vick supervises fabrication in Woodland's shop. He started helping with employee meetings out of respect for Mariotti; he wanted to "show more interest than just attending a meeting." Vick has appreciated Mariotti's willingness to listen and the attention he gives to cultivating a person's talents and putting that person in a position to grow and succeed.
Because the workload varies with the season, monthly character meetings vary in length, but Woodland employees still take time to emphasize character, even when time constraints limit the content of the monthly meeting to the monthly Character First! video. Business Manager Steve Caballero said, "The delivery of the material on a monthly basis is critical." Woodland has tried doing quarterly character meetings, but Caballero said that the longer time period did not keep the emphasis as fresh in people's minds.
The Woodland team intentionally invests whatever time and effort is necessary to resolve a situation. On one job, they encountered an architect who was sometimes difficult to work with. Because of the way they worked through each situation, that architect is now a big supporter. As Mariotti said, "It's not like we run a perfect business, but there has definitely been a change…"
Go for the Gold!
The summer Olympics have ended and athletes around the world are celebrating their victories.
So much attention is given to winning a gold medal that silver, bronze, or even fourth place are quickly forgotten by the spectators. Yet for individuals, the years of disciplined training they endured and the effort they put forth in their events are really more important than where they finished.
People have this same focus on results in classrooms and homes around the world. Children who try their hardest to learn a skill or pass a test are often overlooked for the ones who achieve the highest performance, but performance is not always the best indicator of discipline or effort.
Don't let today's achievement-driven culture keep you from recognizing the good character you see in the young people around you. Tell them how happy you are when they make wise decisions. Take notice when they do something right. Challenge them to "Go for the Gold" in their hearts, even when others do not appreciate their efforts.
Character Grows in the Arizona Desert
Thanks to Arizona State Treasurer David Petersen’s efforts, many schools in Arizona have now received Character First! Education training, and are beginning to integrate character education with their curriculum.
Petersen has continued to promote the integration of character development in all sectors of Arizona's communities. In April, 2004, the city of Avondale became the first community in Arizona to declare itself a city of character, and more communities are in the process of establishing community-wide character initiatives.
Petersen served in the Arizona State Senate for eight years before being elected state treasurer in 2002. While in the senate, Petersen served as chair on the Family Services Committee and was instrumental in the passage of character education legislation with supportive funding. Petersen’s long-term goal is to demonstrate integrity while serving the citizens of Arizona.
Petersen will speak at the 2004 International Building Cities of Character Conference to be held September 22-24 in Oklahoma City. Conference speakers will equip you to begin a community-wide character initiative. For more information, call 405-815-0001 ext. 150, or visit http://www.charactercities.org/conference/