@wundayatta I know grown people without those traits and I am sure you do too. No one currently pays me and for the past 10 years I have been doing the most important job I will ever do in my entire life and I didn’t go to University to learn how to do it either. ;o)
I know plenty of people with good character who don’t make loads of money and I know people with loads of money and no character.
When I hired people at the accounting firm, I didn’t hire for skills. I can train people up. What I couldn’t change or train was their character or work ethic. I hired the right person/personality. I wasn’t hiring pieces of paper in the resume. If they hadn’t learned self discipline or trustworthiness or a sense of humour, I wasn’t going to hire them, regardless of what schools they graduated from. The undergrads doing accounting part time were much less trouble than the ‘double degree’ guys who thought they warranted partnership simply because they went to school for two more years and were so completely full of themselves they ‘couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the directions were written on the bottom.’ to borrow a quote from my father. (I was in charge of hiring ‘new recruits’ not Associates. Partners hired Associates and they brought in some real arrogant pricks, omg, and they regretted it.)
So, from my experience, people of good character will (and have done) add worth to my bottom line. They will be reliable and self disciplined and be good listeners.