Citygate Associates: Character First!

Character Determines Success

Achievement in life is always birthed from effort and discipline. The same is true of character. Basing your organizational focus on character and developing character in the lives of your employees will require diligence, vision, and creativity on your part. But the reward of seeing lives change, families drawn closer together, and success replace failure more than compensates for any amount of effort. If you care about your employees as people, you can do no less.

Character is revealed by what a person does, even when no one is looking. Character is an individual matter, but an individual’s character greatly impacts those around him/her. The moment-by-moment decisions employees make and the effort they put into the job impact morale, productivity, quality of work, community/school relations and workplace excellence. At the end of the day, that same character will affect relationships within the family.

Character transcends age, position, financial status, race, education, sex, and personality. It affects your decisions, words, attitudes, goals, relationships, and actions. It is only through building character that you can reach your full potential. Good character makes you a better spouse, parent, employee, neighbor, and citizen. Technology advances, information expands, and the world changes but the essential character qualities for producing effective individuals, families, and workplaces do not change.

Character in the Workplace

Flexibility Employers can now be sued by employees who are hurt by workplace violence, harassment, or accidents. One insurance company reported that their largest settlements are now being paid for by these types of claims. These situations can usually be traced to a lack of specific character qualities such as alertness, attentiveness, self-control, forgiveness, and truthfulness. An organization that does not emphasize character can be legally liable for negligent hiring, negligent retention, and negligent training.

Character First! helps you as a leader address the daily challenges that are character related. Organizations and government agencies currently using Character First! are experiencing up to a 90% decrease in employee turnover, absenteeism, workers’ compensation costs and work-related injuries. Their employees are demonstrating an increased loyalty, enthusiasm, creativity, productivity, personal responsibility, and willingness to serve.

Building Character

Building character is not like building a machine or a product. It is not a task you complete in a day, a week, or a year. Building character takes a lifetime. Changing one's character requires little more than hard work and commitment. Just as a mountain is constantly being reshaped by weather patterns, our character is reshaped by the choices we make and the principles by which we choose to live. New characteristics are developed by deliberately changing the old pattern of behavior.

If your desire is total quality management and workplace excellence, Character First! was created for you, your management staff, and your employees.