The Importance of Character in Business
A few days ago I had occasion to go into a local business. As I entered the building, a chorus of hellos rang out from the employees of the business. “Hello, welcome to _________!” “Hello, how are you?”
I know that the employees had been trained to welcome customers as they came in the door, that it was not just a spontaneous welcome meant especially for me, but it didn’t matter. I still felt welcomed. I felt important.
How does that relate to “character in business?”
Isn’t it true that a business takes on the character of the people who make it up?
One quality that helps to define who we are as persons, is joyfulness, which has been defined as “maintaining a good attitude even when faced with unpleasant circumstances.” Another quality is hospitality, which is cheerfully sharing food, shelter, or conversation to benefit others.”
The employees of the business mentioned above demonstrated both joyfulness and hospitality in their greetings to me as I came in the door, and it made me feel good and helped to produce a very pleasant experience with that business.
Businesses thrive on good will. The more “pleasant experiences” we can create in our businesses, the better off our businesses will be.
Have you ever been in a store and felt that you were being ignored by the employees? No one acknowledged your presence. Maybe, after a while, you just left. It certainly was not a “pleasant experience.”
Have you ever dealt with a checkout person who seemed to have his/her mind on something else? Did you feel slighted? Did it make you want to come back to that business again? No, more likely the employee’s lack of attentiveness made you feel that you would prefer to just avoid that business in the future.
A business is known by the character of its people.
For information on how to help your employees develop and demonstrate the character qualities you would like to see in your business, go to How to Implement a Character Development Program.
