“When Franklin Roosevelt died, I felt there must be a million men better qualified than I to take up the Presidential task. But the work was mine to do, and I had to do it. And I have tried to give it everything that was in me.” — Harry S. Truman, Farewell Address to the American People, January 15, 1953
After reading David McCullough’s excellent biography on the former president, I can say that rarely has one quote so embodied the essence of a person. As a young man in Missouri, Truman spent long days — which turned into some very long years — working on the family farm. He took up his presidential duties much like he did any farm project — with simple determination and no complaints.
What stands out about Truman is that he was a man of what I will call “character” — he had a strong sense of right and wrong, good and evil. In short, he had an unchanging moral compass against which all options were measured, all decisions evaluated. The most important attribute of this compass was not its exact calibration, but that it did not change based on the particular circumstances of the moment.
Character, I have come to firmly believe, tells. Character is the best crystal ball we have to foretell someone’s future actions, to know if they will “work out” either as a friend, spouse, business associate or employee. Interestingly, this theory has been reinforced repeatedly within the span of a few days.
- The Truman biography cited above
- Kate’s excellent column on the differences between New York Giants Coach Tom Coughlin and New York Jets Coach Rex Ryan
- KLAS President Adam Gale’s blog about outstanding planning and assessment firms
- The latest installment of Canton-Potsdam Hospital CIO Jorge Grillo’s Meditech 6.0 Diary
I’d like to dwell on the last item for a moment. In what sense, you ask, does Grillo’s piece illustrate the telling nature of character? He describes the actual “go-live” below:
“There were numerous folks who worked over 12 hours at a stretch and also volunteered to step up and man a night shift. What a team!” he writes, “Some, like me, were up for 36-hours straight or more.”
This last line got me to thinking — what makes someone stay up for 36 hours to complete a job? I feel certain it’s not pay, or chance of promotion, or anything external at all. It’s character; it’s a self-developed and imposed code of honor, a pact one makes with one’s self to “get the job done,” no matter what it takes.
I hired Kate because I knew she held herself to a higher standard than I ever could. Every person I hire in the future must have this same code of conduct. Every person must be someone I trust, and I will only trust people who exemplify high character.
Conduct yourself so people have no choice but to describe you with words like “honest, honorable and fair,” hire people who deserve the same attributes, and contract for services with only those organizations that hold such reputations. Entities with high character don’t always get it right, but you can be sure that they will be on the mark the vast majority of the time.
Harry Truman reflected that he gave the presidency “all that was in him” — as a nation, we were fortunate that what was in him was character.
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