Hello Everyone,
I know I should write an uplifting, holiday-oriented greeting….or…. suggest a list of New Year’s Resolutions to motivate all of you! But I just can’t. The problem is, I am still suffering from exposure to people I have encountered this month who are afflicted with MCD. And I feel compelled, just like the Surgeon General, to tell you how to identify and avoid people suffering from this debilitating disorder…because unfortunately, I don’t think it’s curable.
What is MCD? Well, I can’t take credit for putting a name on this affliction. That credit goes to Linda Mertz, CEO of Mertz & Associates, one of the leading middle market M&A firms in the country.
MCD stands for “Material Character Defect”. Linda mentioned the term at a recent TEC meeting and it perfectly described some of the people I have had the displeasure of dealing with in the last couple months.
We have all dealt with people suffering from MCD, in big ways and small. Have you ever been out to dinner with someone who complained about the food, wine, or service, for no other reason than the desire to obtain a free desert or drink? Small symptom, but definitely a person exhibiting MCD. I spoke recently with an HR director who described an executive candidate who was taken out of the running for a very senior position solely because he belittled his wife at a dinner with the Board of Directors. This guy definitely suffered from MCD; in this case, the Directors astutely spot-on diagnosed MCD early in their vetting process, knowing that a guy who publicly belittled his wife (read “chose not to value a critical constituent”) would likely do the same to employees, shareholders, customers, and the like.
For my part, I’m (thankfully) almost over a most unpleasant exposure to an individual who simply won’t pay bills or tell the truth to critical constituents. In cases like these, the MCD-afflicted person portrays him or herself as a victim, conjuring overly dramatic excuses for not paying as agreed or telling the truth, all the while rationalizing the actions or lies as “necessary,” or, at the absolute height of MCD affliction, actually believing the lies. Once you correctly diagnose a person with MCD (which unfortunately often only results from prolonged exposure to the affected person), you feel a little foolish for not having quarantined yourself sooner. So, early diagnosis is critical to avoid harm to yourself and others (read “your credibility, your company, your employees…..”). As one of my mentors once said, “If you deal with a jerk, you are a jerk.”
Another one of my unhealthy encounters involved somebody who committed out and out fraud. Now, by nature I am a very trusting and positive person. But this guy was enough to shake my faith in human kind….he had no qualms about infecting and threatening the health of an entire company and the livelihood of its extremely hard-working and dedicated owners. And I really have to fight my reaction to spend every free moment sending this guy to jail.
So how do you identify a person with this terrible affliction? Here’s my list of the ten character flaws….uh….I mean symptoms of MCD:
1. Arrogance or Hubris
2. Dishonesty, especially habitual lying on stuff small and big
3. Short-tempered
4. Drama Queen
5. Destructively High Ego (the incredibly hard to cure “DHE strain” of MCD) with the need to always have the last word
6. Joyless
7. Cheap and picking on the help (employees, service workers, etc.)
8. Greedy
9. Victim mentality, always blaming
10. Lack of self-awareness
So how do you avoid people with MCD? Well you cannot. But as our buddy Ronald Reagan said, “Trust but verify.”
PROFILE
If you are hiring, DO PERSONALITY PROFILING ON ALL CANDIDATES. I use The Culture Index, which is run by Tony Quartaro in Milwaukee. They’re great. Rick Bauman PH.D. at Humber Mundie & McClary is an excellent industrial psychologist too. There are many other surveys such as Myers Briggs, DISC, Calipers, etc. But whatever you do, don’t hire anybody without knowing who they are.
OBSERVE
The good news is you don’t have to be an industrial psychologist to observe MCD in people. Just listen, watch, and constantly evaluate them against your personal truth meter, character meter, fit meter, whatever “meter” tells you what you need and want to know…..you get the idea. Remember to take your temperature often!
MAKE THEM PASS THE SPOUSE TEST
My dear wife Laura is an awesome judge of character. I can often save a lot of time simply by bringing her to meet somebody. Spouses have an uncanny ability to spot MCD.
LISTEN TO YOUR GUT
If you have a customer, supplier, prospective employee, or prospective business partner who is flashing you a yellow light, just listen to your inner voice. Some of my most expensive and upsetting mistakes have come from not proceeding with caution (read “exit”) when my gut said “slow down”….”stop”…. “get the hell out of here ASAP.”
OK, so no advice on New Year’s Resolutions, optimistic predictions about 2011, or giving thanks that 2010 wasn’t 2009. (Sorry about that.) I’ll cover that in January. But please accept my sincere wish for a prosperous, and especially a healthy 2011 – free of anybody afflicted with MCD!–JRH
