How Would the Area Economy Benefit from a Character Culture?

What would it mean for our area economy if all, or 50% or even 25% of our companies and organizations could grow and expand, even when the rest of the country is in recession? The affect would be amazing. A character culture in our companies and organizations can make this possible.

Kansas Aviation, Inc. (KAI) has grown steadily since its inception in 1992 from 4 employees to 58 today. The Independence company’s growth continued, even through the last two years of recession. The company specializes in the overhaul and repair of oil/air/fuel related engine accessories in many types of aircraft; their customers come from around the world.

Is their success due to no competition? Hardly. There are businesses all over the United States and world offering these same services. What would make customers from all over the world fly their aircraft to Independence Kansas to KAI for service? There’s only one explanation. KAI’s customers receive a level of service and satisfaction they can’t get from any of KAI’s competitors.

KAI’s president, Toby Lavine, will tell you it’s the people of KAI that make the difference. The employees of KAI work as a cohesive team to provide the best of service in solving their customers’ problems.
What makes KAI’s team work the way it does? Character. For the last seven years, KAI has cultivated a culture of character using the Character First (CF) method. The culture of character is what gives KAI the edge over their competition in serving their customers.

What Is Character First?

This statement from the Character First web site summarizes the program and its benefits for businesses and organizations. (http://www.characterfirst.com/)

Think about the most significant personal and organizational issues you have addressed over the past year. How many of them were character-related? How many times did you wish you had a proactive way to address them?

The Character First leadership development program trains executives and managers how to build a culture of integrity, how to resolve conflict, how to encourage employee morale, and how to integrate character-based standards into job descriptions, reward structures, and management practices.
As people care more about integrity and relationships, an organization will improve customer service, retain good people, strengthen teams, reduce accidents, increase productivity, and build goodwill in the community.

Next Tuesday, December 14, 2010, a “Character” lunch will be held at the Independence Community College West campus. The Character First people from Edmond Oklahoma will present the details of how the program works. Nearly 100 people from the Montgomery County and surrounding area will attend. Registrations are available through Monday, December 13 at 1:00pm. See more information about the luncheon and a registration form at http://www.innovatesek.org/Character-Luncheon-2010-58289asp-58289.asp

This event is presented through joint sponsorship by Character First, Independence Business Resource Center, Successful Entrepreneur program at Independence Community College and Montgomery County Action Council.

How Did We Learn About Character First

At the SEK Innovation Summit last September, Kent Fahrenbruck of the Character First organization and Toby Lavine of Kansas Aviation showcased the value of Character First in special presentations for area business leaders. Kansas Aviation implemented the Character First program seven years ago and the results have been dramatic. With the help of CF, Toby saw Kansas Aviation grow from four employees in 1992 to 58 today (December 2010). The growth is set to continue as KAI just received a large contract for additional work with jet engine maker Pratt-Whitney for work that requires expansion of both facility and employee base.