Under the premise that we’re in the people business first and the meat business second, this is my third blog in a series offering tips about working with people. I shared thoughts last month on what to do when you get fired and also on how to best work with toxic people.

This blog is about how to best test the true character of a person or a company. And that all-telling test is this: How do they respond to the trials, tribulations and tough tests that we all face in business and in life? How do they handle adversity?

When life is good and we’re all getting along at home or at work, it’s normally smooth sailing. But then difficulties come, we get to see how people respond. Do they lose their cool? Do they shift blame, deny their culpability, lie, or run and hide?

When working at a meat plant, we all know mistakes happen. Occasionally products get mislabeled on the production floor, or sometimes allergens that should be declared on a label don’t get declared by mistake. In the sales office, a price mistake might be made, or an order gets input into the system incorrectly. The shipping department can mis-pull a case or send the wrong pallet to the wrong destination. We all make mistakes. But when mistakes are made, does the person in the wrong own up to it, hide it, or lie about it?

Usually, mistakes cost money to remedy. If you send a pallet of ribeyes to a customer that ordered chuck rolls and no one catches the mistake, that costs you money. Worse, if you’re forced to do a recall, that can often cost ‘mucho dinero.’ Whether it’s a small fix or a huge deal, it reveals a person’s or a company’s true character to see if they will do the right thing. Do they try to find a way out of the problem that minimizes their losses at the cost of their integrity?

Too many are willing to sell out their own integrity, even by lying about their mistakes, for such petty gains. But some will always try to do the right thing by taking responsibility for their mistakes, even if it costs them a bunch of dough. The latter are people worth maintaining a business relationship with, and they’re the ones who can sleep at night with clear consciences.

I once worked in a meat plant that accidentally sent out some combos of beef trim that were mistakenly not tested for E. coli. We only caught the mistake after the meat was in commerce and we had to decide if we should issue an expensive and embarrassing recall or try to hide the whole mess. There were some strong opinions in the conference room about what we should do. The CFO wanted to ignore the matter, as it would cost the company some money and a ding to our reputation. The sales team desired to maintain their credibility and own up to the mistake, not to mention fulfilling the responsibility to keep people safe from eating untested food. At the end of a long and tense meeting, the decision was made to issue a recall, even though it was indeed an expensive and embarrassing mistake.

For personal relationships, I counsel my children when dating and looking for a person of character to watch the way the person they’re dating goes through the tougher experiences in life. Things like the loss of a job, a speeding ticket, an automotive breakdown or any kind of serious disappointment. A friend of mine has a saying, “You never really know someone until you’ve seen their reaction to a break up.” That’s true in business as well as in personal life. Do they trash-talk the past relationship? Do they vilify the other party to make themselves look better? Those types of reactions tell you all you need to know. That’s a bullet to be dodged. Do not engage or re-engage when those red flags appear.

In your life experiences, do you agree that trials are a true test of character? What else is more telling that watching companies or people deal with a difficulties?

The true tests of personal and business integrity

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