Character is What You Do When You Think Nobody is Looking

The other day as my teen aged son and I were finishing our holiday shopping, we just happened to be looking when some of our fellow shoppers thought we weren’t.  Cutting in line to be the first to check out, making rude gestures to other drivers as they navigated crowded streets and parking lots, and failing to yield their seats to elderly passengers on the Metro – none of these qualify as images any of us would use to describe ourselves at a family gathering.

As many of us in the business world rush to close out another year, what will our co-workers say about our character?  What behaviors have we exhibited when we thought nobody was looking?  How have we treated others who we thought were subordinate to us?

Character is the fabric that is woven throughout our story. It’s the book behind the cover.  It’s what gives our business stories credibility. Most importantly, it’s what compels other people to want to do business with us.