Character Is the One Thing That Doesn't Come With a Price

I'll never forget sometime back when a manager I deeply admired pulled an underhanded stunt.

It wasn't a huge deal. But it revealed, to me at least, a huge character flaw.

Simply, he couldn't be trusted.

Once trust is lost, it is very hard to get back. It hurts careers. It hurts companies.

And this past week, more than a few companies have come to learn this the hard way.

Merck and Schering-Plough wrestling with the fallout of Vytorin, their highly hyped cholesterol drug that not only didn't live up to that hype. But if reports are true, the companies themselves knew long ago it didn't live up to that hype.

Then the airlines revealed this week to have taken safety short cuts and maybe with the FAA's blessing, all the while assuring their customers it was safety first, safety second, safety always.

These aren't bad companies. Just like that manager isn't a bad person.

But once burned, customers, and colleagues often are more than twice shy.

No doubt these drug companies and airline companies will soon try rebates and cash incentives, maybe fancy commercials and full page ads extolling their virtues.

But it takes more than cash to make a point.

Because in business, as in life, character is the one thing that doesn't come with a price.

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