Bruce Weinstein - The Good Ones: Ten Crucial Qualities of High-Character Employees

Praise for The Good Ones

The Good Ones is a must-read for managers and employees alike. In a world that sometimes has a win-at-all-costs attitude, it is good to read about how you can have long-term success by surrounding yourself with people of high character. From now on I will incorporate character questions when conducting interviews and will look at the ten qualities associated with high-character individuals as part of my hiring process.

JOHN OWEN, global business director at Thomson Reuters

I dont know which is more exciting, the tools for recognizing character in the interview process or the permission it gives companies to focus on character in the first place. Either way, this is an important and valuable book for any organization.

DAVID LEVIN, author of Dont Just Talk, Be Heard! and coauthor (with John G. Miller) of QBQ! The Question Behind the Question

Bruce Weinstein has put together a survival kit that just might save your job. Want to get ahead? Read The Good Ones, a road map to a better life.

BOB DOTSON, national correspondent for NBC News and Today, and New York Times bestselling author of American Story: A Lifetime Search for Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things

Bruces ten qualities of high-character employees ring true to me. Ive hired hundreds of individuals over the past thirty-five years, and when Ive failed in hiring its almost always been about an individuals character, not their skills. We need more sound character in our workplaces, and this book is a great and entertaining way to learn more about why character matters.

DAVID L. BROWN, MD, former chair of the Anesthesiology Institute at the Cleveland Clinic and founder of Curadux

The Good Ones helps individuals and institutions integrate ten character traits critical to success. Dr. Weinsteins expert weaving of valid interview questions throughout each chapter provides hiring managers with tools for identifying good people, but also provides job candidates with legitimate samples of behavior-based interview answers to those questions, which will help them land good positions. Finally, employees can apply this books recommendations by emulating the ten traits necessary to propel them to the leadership ranks. I will personally keep The Good Ones close, regularly referencing its resourceful contents in my daily interactions with clients, colleagues, friends, and family.

J. KIM SCHOLES, strategic human capital consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton

Bruce Weinstein has done it again! The insights, practicality, and wisdom shared in this book will help businesses create Good Ones in the workplace. This book is a wonderful, easy read filled with practical examples. All organizations need to focus on character and accountability in the manner Weinstein suggests. Read this book, implement what Weinstein recommends, and watch what happens!

Frank C. Bucaro, CSP, CPAE, Values-Based Leadership Expert and author of If Good Ethics Is Good Business, Whats the Problem?

I really enjoyed this remarkable book! Its well written, with a bit of humility sprinkled in for a good measure, which I liked. The concept of the Good Ones translates well into Russian, which is another indication of how goodness transcends boundaries.

ANATOLY YAKOREV, director of the Center for Business Ethics & Compliance, International University in Moscow

This book had me at the introduction: Character: The Missing Link to Excellence. Exactly! Bruce Weinstein explains why and how you want to be and hire the Good Ones in this anecdote-rich and important book. You and your organization need to read and learn what Weinstein advises.

MARK SANBORN, bestselling author of The Fred Factor, Fred 2.0, and You Dont Need a Title to Be a Leader

This inspiring, fast-moving book shows you how to hire, manage, motivate, and get the very best out of a team of excellent people.

BRIAN TRACY, bestselling author of How the Best Leaders Lead and Eat That Frog!

All too often, we focus on competence and overlook the importance of character. In this thoughtful book, ethics expert Bruce Weinstein gives us the tools to correct that imbalance.

ADAM GRANT, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take

Also by Bruce Weinstein

AS AUTHOR

What Should I Do?
4 Simple Steps to Making Better Decisions in Everyday Life

Life Principles: Feeling Good by Doing Good

Is It Still Cheating If I Dont Get Caught?
(for tweens and teens)

Ethical Intelligence: Five Principles for Untangling
Your Toughest Problems at Work and Beyond

AS EDITOR

Ethics in the Hospital Setting

Dental Ethics

Ethical Issues in Pharmacy

Copyright 2015 by Bruce Weinstein

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Text design by Tona Pearce Myers

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Weinstein, Bruce D.

The good ones : ten crucial qualities of high-character employees / Bruce Weinstein.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60868-274-4 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-60868-275-1 (ebook)

1. Employee selection. 2. Employee motivation. 3. Work ethic. 4. Business ethics. 5. Personnel management. I. Title.

HF5549.5.S38W43 2015

658.3112dc23

2014046317

First printing, May 2015

ISBN 978-1-60868-274-4

Printed in the USA on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Jason Gardner, an editor who is truly one of the Good Ones

CONTENTS

T ake a look at any job description. What do employers say theyre looking for? No matter what the job is, its description focuses on two things: what the employee needs to know, and what the employee needs to do.

Knowledge and skill are essential qualities in any employee. But are they enough? Isnt there another aspect of a job candidates profile that is at least as important as knowledge and skill namely, that persons character?

Consider whats at stake. Would you really want to hire an accountant who was at the top of her class in business school if she is also a liar and a thief? What electronics company would want one of the countrys leading software engineers on its team if that person lost his temper at every real or perceived slight? If you want to sell your home, would it matter to you that your broker bad-mouths his employer on his Facebook page?

costs businesses an estimated $36 billion a year and affects over two million Americans. These statistics suggest a painful truth in business: questionable character is costly.