character or results

This weekend the Spartans were embarassed (yet again) by the Wolverines. The season has gone from promising to devestating. One ray of hope: the opportunity to beat the #1 team in the nation this coming weekend would lift everyone's spirits and turn the season around. But what are the chances that the Buckeyes would stumble against this discouraged and wounded Spartan team?

Which gets me to thinking about our results-oriented society. In a recent article, many of the assistant coaches and Spartan players celebrated Head Coach John L. Smith for what a great job he has done. They trumpeted his focus on character and academics. They pointed to the charity and community service work John L. has led the team to accomplish. They were trying to remind everyone that leadership is about more than just winning.

And yet...when you get paid more than a million dollars a year to coach, people are expecting more than character development. Your judgment is based on the bottom line. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not to get political, but I always found it interesting how staunch supporters of President Clinton would speak of his leadership. I often heard comments like: "Well, he may be a bit sleazy, but he gets the job done!" Please understand, I am not speaking for or against Clinton. I just found it interesting how his allies would use that as their mantra.

So which is more important in your book? Character or winning results? The easy answer is "both". But in our society today we are often forced to choose. What choice will you make?