In David Brooks’ new book, Character, he begins by drawing a distinction between eulogy virtues and résumé virtues. The résumé virtues are those that you bring to the job market and contribute to external success. The eulogy virtues, on the other hand are those that get talked about at your funeral, the ones that are at your core being: kindness, honesty, bravery and what kind of relationships you formed. Our society emphasizes personal achievements and precious little focus is spent on the values-driven aspects of our character. Brooks admits this book is a personal quest to find the more enduring and important virtues of character, the eulogy virtues.
The same is true for organizations. What is more important than those enduring qualities of character that define who we are as a company? The character of a company, who we are and how we do things (our culture), is our legacy. Of course, we can’t ignore the elements that enable our companies to be successful and survive. However, how we achieve our success, establish our reputations, and contribute to our society and environment are the parallels to Brooks’ personal quest for eulogy virtues.
This reminds me of the Patrick Lencioni’s belief that a company needs to be both smart and healthy to be truly successful. Lencioni, renowned business management consultant, explains how smart companies focus on systems, processes, procedures, strategy and a host of science and technology to make successful business decisions. Healthy companies, on the other hand, look at the human component to minimize tensions in the workplace, foster learning, and produce corporate cultures where people love to work, and focus on the values (of character) that drive our behavior and define who we are.
The eulogy component of a company’s character contributes to making a company healthy. Have you spent enough time and energy on developing a values-driven, healthy corporate culture?