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It's no exaggeration to say that ours is an achievement-obsessed society. From kindergarten onward, rewards and recognition revolve around performance. Character is rarely celebrated.

Almost every organization has some type of periodic personnel review. Bonuses and promotions often hinge on them. Yet qualities of character may be completely absent from the review process. In fact, it's notable that these reviews have become known as "performance reviews."

That name alone tells us that achievement, not character, is what truly counts in the organization. After all, we tend to monitor and assess things which are truly important. So, how long has it been since you've had a "character review"? Probably never. What does that say about how seriously your corporate culture treats character.

Where organizations DO take character seriously is when a character breakdown leads to tragedy, disaster, or collapse. In fact, character flaws can topple great businesses just as surely as poor performance.

My theme in this episode is to encourage a more balanced approach to recognizing character and performance. Achievement gets tons of attention. Character could use some, too.