Today’s guest blog is from Steve Olsen, the Director of Advising at AIB College of Business. We were happy to first meet Steve as a volunteer on our Iowa Character Awards selection committee.

In our fast-paced lives, we pride ourselves at doing more in less time. We complete tasks at high speeds only to pile more onto our already full plates. Why does it take getting pneumonia for us to slow down or losing our job to compel us to reevaluate our lives? If only we would realize that those “setbacks” we thought we would never get through are what test our faith and build our character. Sometimes taking the long road is not the most gratifying or fun, but it’s during those journeys we truly begin to grow.

Most would say the quicker they accomplish something, the more free time they will have to work on other tasks. But when have all of the tasks on your to-do list ever really been completed? Life and circumstances do not allow us to be free of lists. That is exactly why we must take the time to purposefully and intentionally slow down, and my recommendation is to start today. Take a leisurely walk through the park with your family; eat a meal at the dinner table that you all prepared together; or spend an hour in silence just listening to your thoughts.

By not slowing down, what may get overlooked during this rush through life is the importance of character development. If you haven’t taken the time to honestly rate your character and reflect on your assessment, I encourage you to do so. Look at the Six Pillars of Character (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship) and make a commitment to slow down and focus on building each Pillar into your life. But remember…this self-evaluation may take some time, and that’s perfectly fine.

Among the friends we made at the 200
9 Pursuing Victory With Honor Summit in Sioux City is Jim Braunschweig, who works in admissions and electronic communications at Morningside. Here’s Jim’s take on role models…..and kids movies.

Everyone has a role model or someone they look up to; someone who has a positive attitude in almost any given situation, makes good decisions, is respectful, polite, and caring, but most importantly can always be counted on when you need them. Simply put, this person possesses and demonstrates good “character”.  According to the dictionary, a person with “character” has qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity.

To be honest, I don’t have just any one person I look up to; I’m lucky to have many. Thanks to my parents, I learned at a very early age how to recognize these kinds of people when they come along, and surround myself with them in nearly every aspect of my everyday life.

I’ve learned many things from these special people, but the most important thing I’ve discovered is that they all live by one simple yet powerful principle (whether they know it or not) – that life is bigger than him/herself. Some of these people recognize this through their religious beliefs, others by the love they share for their family and friends, and the ones who impress me the most, by the way they care for just about everyone including complete strangers.

By focusing their attention outwardly on others rather than inwardly on themselves, it seems as if many of the little day-to-day things that easily distract, upset, and sometimes ruin the average person’s day don’t even phase them. They see past these minor inconveniences and understand the big picture, which allows them to always appear happier and more optimistic than those who don’t. I believe the way a person with “good character” views the world can be summed up by the following two sayings. The first, “The Serenity Prayer”, is quite popular and you’ve probably heard it before. It begins “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” The second, I heard in the movie Kung Fu Panda. Master Oogway (the tortoise) said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, but today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.” By the way, that movie is one of my favorites, and in case you’re judging my taste in movies, you have to admit “little kid” movies have come a long way in entertaining adult audiences as well.

There’s a reason my parents told me to seek out these kinds of people; so I could become more like them. I’ll be sure to have similar advice about the importance of finding and surrounding yourself with people who possess and demonstrate “good character” with my own son when he’s old enough. For now I’d like to share a saying I recently discovered that speaks to this idea of becoming more like the company you keep, and I hope you’re reminded of it as you meet new people and build relationships with them. “Those with whom we assemble, we soon resemble.”

You can find Jim as @msideadmguy on Twitter or check out his blog.

In 2009 we had the privilege of working with Morningside College in Sioux City, IA to host the Pursuing Victory With Honor Summit.  We greatly enjoyed working with the Morningside team, including their resident go-getter, Nancy Mounts.  Here’s Nancy’s take on Morningside’s character:

The great majority of students who enroll here at Morningside College have had wide exposure to CHARACTER COUNTS! and the various components such as the Six Pillars of Character and the Pursuing Victory with Honor Summit. Having been on the staff of the college for nine years, it is my firm belief that the impact of CHARACTER COUNTS! is evident on a daily basis in student’s lives.

Service learning is a very important part of the students’ educational experience, with all involved in one way or another. For example, education majors opt to provide ongoing support for adults with disabilities, student government officers organize a program to support the personal needs of the armed forces in Afghanistan, students in campus ministry go on mission trips several times a year, football players and others made a trip to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake, six hundred students and staff volunteer each year to provide needed services for non-profit organizations, and on and on and on.

Showing compassion and caring for others is part of the culture of the college. Random acts of kindness seem to occur many times each and every day. In a blinding snowstorm, a student ran outside with no coat to help an elderly man who was struggling to get into a car. Another student organized a dinner with all the trimmings for students who needed a place to go on Thanksgiving day. As a senior citizen, I personally experience random acts of kindness on a regular basis. Thousands of dollars are raised every year by various student organizations to assist in meeting a variety of needs. One example is the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity raising funds for breast cancer by manning a station in front of the student union around the clock for one week.

Leadership development is also on the rise. One of the dorms is a Leadership Academy that offers residents a variety of opportunities to develop their leadership skills. Students in the Intro to Leadership course study ethics and leadership, with many talking about and reflecting on their Character Counts programs in high school. Ethical leadership and civic responsibility are a part of the Morningside College mission statement. Our students are living examples of upholding these goals. Even though we hear much in the media about negative behaviors of college students, college students today are more focused on high academic achievement, leadership and service learning.

CHARACTER COUNTS! is alive and well on the Morningside College campus!

We’re proud to partner with ServiceMaster Green in Des Moines.  Check out this great post from our friend Angela Foldes at ServiceMaster Green.

Developing character in business and in our personal lives is not something you can achieve in a day.   When working toward building a reputation of good character in business you must be committed to honesty and integrity.  Traits of good character are following through on commitments, taking responsibility for both good and bad actions and treating all people with respect and dignity.  It requires being consistent in our actions and with our communication.

When Rich Emery started ServiceMaster Green in 1980, he wanted to build a company that would develop its employees, serve the community and provide exceptional service to his customers.

We believe having good character is an essential part of being a good leader.  Our mission statement and company values reflect the good character we strive to develop in our employees on a daily basis.  We have partnered with Character Counts In Iowa and have made them a regular part of our supervisor meetings.   They use team building exercises to teach our employees what good character is all about.  Together we shape strong leaders with good character.

We have an award program we call “Master Moments”.    It is where we recognize those employees that have gone above and beyond in their service to our customers.  We gather Master Moments all month long and as a management team we vote for a winner each month.  The winner receives a check for $250, a certificate signed by Rich, a trophy and their name is put on a plaque that hangs in our front office.  Their picture appears in our monthly newsletter with the story of what they are being recognized for.  The Master Moments are shared with our employees and customers.  Both are encouraged and touched by these stories.
We believe Character Counts In Iowa has an important mission and we are excited to continue our wonderful relationship with them and together we can help individuals and other local businesses work toward developing good character in their employees.

“Bring your true and best self to Life, Work and Leadership every day”