Good character is good business

Character is destiny, Heraclitus observed. Some 2,500 years later we can't seem to escape that fact.

One of my mentors is a prolific and respected management guru, famous for some 25+ books on the study of leadership. After decades of examining what makes a great leader, he announced a few years ago that it comes down to character.

That initially made me wonder if he really needed 25 books to make such an argument. I also wondered if, for my own sleazy and self-serving purposes, character just might be overrated for leaders or others.

But I tend to see the point, increasingly. And just as much, I see a great lack of character among our business and political leaders, especially as it relates to our quasi-recession.

Many home borrowers with bad credit took out large loans without committing themselves to the hard work of paying it off over 30 years, or committing themselves to the risks inherent in the loan terms that were appropriate for someone of their, um, uncreditworthiness.

I do not believe that our leaders in D.C. have funded the character deficit when they scramble to create silly solutions to the credit crunch. I do not believe it is in good character for some of our presidential candidates to turn consumer irresponsibility into an "us vs. them" rant against "corporate elites."

Nor do I believe that our leaders are showing great character when they insist that we keep low taxes -- or even cut them further -- given our increasing national debt to foreign rivals.

I do not believe that our leaders are showing character when they send rebate checks to ordinary Americans -- yet plead with such Americans to use it for added consumption, rather than for the paying off of credit card debts or for college savings. No, I do not believe we are forging character by increasing our collective debt in order to enable our worst consumerist addictions.

Nor do I believe that it shows good character for us to expect government leaders to coddle the emotions of jittery Wall Street investors. I expect those investors to show a little character. And I do not expect our leaders to have to puff up our national psyche while giving short shrift to our real economic and educational challenges. Collectively, we can do much better in terms of character.

The natural American character is resilient, patient and strong, self-reliant yet willing to give a hand to others. A return to good character would be a good start for a return to a good economy.