Therefore, an enormously powerful driver of improved results is a work environment that provides a sense of personal dignity. Each individual must work to protect their own dignity and the leader of the group must work to protect the dignity of the group as a whole.

Here are a series of random thoughts concerning dignity:

Last week I attended a meeting as an observer where several people in the room treated other people with a complete lack of dignity. They used foul language, expressed that they really didn't want to work with the others in the group and took virtually no break in a meeting that lasted several hours. The situation cried out for someone to stand up and say, "We can agree to disagree, but we cannot lower the dignity of this group. When dignity erodes, our business results will suffer. We must act with respect if we ever hope to drive better results."

Several weeks ago I watched the film, "Me and My Shadow: My Life With Judy Garland." It was written by Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's second daughter. Judy Garland was a mega-talent. Her song, "Over The Rainbow," was voted the number one song of the century. Yet, in many ways her life was a disaster. She survived on sleeping pills, weight pills and energy pills. She was married at least four times and never found any sense of self-worth outside of her performances. The problem was she was never treated with dignity. Her mother and the studio chief at MGM controlled her destiny and never allowed Judy to feel that she was her own boss. This lack of personal dignity led to a very low level of self-esteem which resulted in a life of drug and alcohol abuse.

Last night, I watched Duke University win its third national championship in men's basketball. Coach Krzyzewski has built a program that emphasizes personal dignity and team dignity. I encourage you to read his book, Leading With The Heart. Dignity and self-esteem when combined with well-honed skills generate extraordinary levels of achievement.

A strong self-esteem and a well-established sense of personal dignity are better than money in the bank. While you don't have control over the stock market, you most definitely have control over your own self-esteem and personal dignity.

Take three minutes right now to write down your five greatest strengths. This could be in any area of your life, but right them down. Several years ago I wrote down, "I write good personalized letters. I listen well when I put my mind to it. I can explain complicated ideas in simple and straightforward steps. I care enormously about other people achieving their goals. I am always willing to learn new ideas." Those five strengths became the basis of my consulting firm.