Ralph’s has a superstore within 50 yards of our front door. The employees are hairy, sweaty, and the men are worse. Kidding aside, the place is so disengaged that customers feel like intrusions. Most of the cashiers don’t give eye contact to customers and many of them talk with other employees while practicing the mindless frenzy of entering barcodes into the system. The disengagement at the front of the store is matched by the back. The worst of it is bringing home meat, poultry, and produce that gets rotten in 24 hours.

We typically visit the store with “ingredient emergencies.” You know, guests are coming and we forgot to buy coffee. For every dollar we spend at the store next door, we spend ten dollars with the competition. We willingly drive a few miles just to find people who work with pride. Gelson’s and Whole Foods are far better. But, the best? Trader Joe’s.

But, for every dollar we spend there, we give another ten dollars towards Gelson’s, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe’s. Rather than walking 50 yards, we usually drive a few miles. Next door, asking for help is typically greeted with a blank stare, disinterest, or irritations. It is the only store where meat, poultry, and produce often get rotten in 24 hours.

At all of these locations, there is only one person responsible for the encounter:

The CEO or the business owner.

When a CEO or business owner places shareholder value and C-level income above the interest of customers and employees, mediocrity always prevails. The trance of disengagement begins at the top. But, as a neighbor and a consumer, grocery stores are special. The quality of these stores helps define our neighborhoods. A couple of months ago, I wrote a letter to the Chair of Yucaipa Companies, which owns Ralph’s as well as a number of other large chains. In the midst of writing this letter, it dawned on me that over the course of 30 years, I have not had one bad buying experience at Trader Joe’s. Here is a store that provides low prices, high-quality products and employees who treat customers as precious assets.

Joe Coulombe, the founder of Trader Joe’s, worked his way through Stanford by holding a part-time job at Rexall. After his graduation, Joe opened up a small chain of convenience stores. But, as the market changed, he saw an opportunity to build a business with unique value. His concept centered around two game-changers:

• Don’t sell other people’s stuff. Control the quality and profit through private labels.
• Develop the best talent in the grocery industry.

Today, Trader Joe’s is more than profitable, it is a cult brand with the kind of fanbase that brings in new members of the tribe every-single-day.

One the employee side, how successfully did Joe Coulombe meet the target?

Did you know the average tenure of a Trader Joe’s cashier is 19 years?

While I was writing The Workplace Engagement Solution, one of my advisors gave me this figure and it boggled my mind. But Joe built a talent philosophy that many stunted CEOs can’t seem to comprehend. The philosophy is common-sense. If you want to retain good workers give everyone a wage that allows them to meet the most basic living standards of the communities they live in. Even as the business grows, stay connected to them. For years, Joe visited every store and asked what they wanted and needed to be their best. Then, he gave it to them. Even the Hawaiian shirts came out of a conversation where employees brought up the notion of wearing fun and comfortable clothes.

I read quite a few stories about what it is like to work at Traders. But none of them summarized the culture better than one of our favorite cashiers, Jessica in Westwood. She’s always recognized us and called out to us by name. I told her about the book and asked how the company has produced such long-term loyalty. She flashed a radiant smile and said,

“19 years is for new people. I’ve been here for 24 years.”

I asked, “What do you attribute it to?”

The smile grew.

“The leadership of Trader Joe’s is amazing. Many of us call it a democracy because everyone is respected. No one pulls rank. Here’s an example. The other day, I was the second person who showed up before the doors opened. Our General Manager was already here. He was in the bathrooms mopping the floors and taking out the trash. We are a family! Everyone is expected to be generous. If I had been the first one in the door, I would have been scrubbing toilets.”

As I studied the Trader Joe’s culture, one of the words that kept coming up was generosity.

Since Joe retired, he has been succeeded by Theo Albrecht, Marc Benioff, and their current CEO, Dan Bane. Each has mirrored Joe’s ethics and values about employees and customers. There is a recent story about Dan with his decision to stop selling bananas in bunches and simply charge $.19 for one banana. They used to weigh the bananas by the pound and then package them at the warehouse. Dan watched an elderly woman walk around a pile of the bananas looking at most every package. But, she walked away without buying anything. He ran after her and asked,

“Why did you not buy any bananas?”

She said, “I’m so old I might not live long enough to eat the fifth banana.”

Trader Joe’s culture of generosity includes a story of one young man that was going through a particularly rough time in his personal life. The stress was beginning to show up at work. The manager walked up an aisle and asked that he join him behind the store. Of course, the guy assumed he was about to be reprimanded, perhaps even fired. But, the manager handed him two cartons of eggs and instructed him to throw eggs against the wall until he felt better. Every day when he worked, that manager greeted him with empathy and provided a safe place for him to live through his challenges.

I came across an article from Katherine Baker from Spoon University. She earned a graduate degree in behavioral science, found a good job in the field only to discover it made her feel stressed out and emotional all of the time. She felt she had lost the game with the “adulting thing.” She took a part-time job at Trader Joe’s to help catch up on student debt. Soon it was a full-time gig. One night, her sister asked if she liked her job at Traders. Surprisingly, she responded, “I think I do.” Katherine continued, “I found myself while mopping floors, preparing hummus samples, and putting jars of cookie butter on the shelf. I remembered who I was, got in touch with what I wanted in life, and learned how effing important it is to follow your dreams – or at the very least, find the things in life that make you happy and unapologetically pursue them.”

The most engaged workers are drawn to employers just like this. Our country’s greatest talent doesn’t take jobs where they have to smother their light just to walk through the front door. There isn’t anything elitist about giving every single worker and customer generosity.

As I finished the letter to the Chair of Yucaipa Companies, I thought of how he might respond. Within a few days, the manager of the local store called me. Panic was in her voice. She begged us to come back and gave us a gift certificate for $50.00. I asked what was she going to do to make the store a better experience. As she responded, it was clear she was not telling the truth. Perhaps she didn’t even realize that the promises coming out of her mouth were what she was supposed to tell us.

I thought of the last time I had any kind of a problem with Trader Joe’s. The only one was a problem of my own making. I have this pair of high-end sunglasses. Over the years, I’ve spent a small fortune in replacing expensive sunglasses that got lost or destroyed. I had waited until I felt I had the emotional stability to get a nice pair of glasses and keep them. One day, I left them somewhere in the Trader Joe’s store and ran to the manager’s station. They had not been turned in.

As I drove home, the phone rang. It was the manager. He said, “Mr. Harder, we just found your sunglasses! Please come back and I’ll give them to you personally.”

I laughed and said I had such low expectations at stores but that Trader Joe’s has become a special place for us.

He laughed and said, “We’re here to make everyone happy. Thank you for being such a valued customer.”

So, just what is the point?

Among my clients, there are a number of senior human capital executives. In many cases, my role is to help them find great opportunities and avoid the misery that comes from a bad fit. The two most common and vital questions include:

Who is the boss?

Does the CEO lead the culture?

If the CEO assigns culture to human resources, I suggest they either turn down the position or take it and keep their bags packed. Every single day, human capital executives are shown the door because the CEO didn’t want to be bothered with people. How can you possibly build an engaged workplace if the CEO is disengaged?

How does that work?

Has it ever worked?

Sure, I realize that is the norm.

But, how does it work?

If you have any doubts, go talk to a cashier at Trader Joe’s.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Why Do Trader Joe’s Cashiers Stay for 19 Years? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

– John F. Kennedy

I grew up in a little dirtbag town with adoptive violent and evangelical parents. In that environment, I remember watching JFK get elected and introduce a form of optimism and eloquence, unlike any president since. In my childhood, the most significant impact of Television was to see our President and his wife demonstrate that while civility and eloquence were not in my home, it was alive and well in our country. I was too young to fully understand politics and the global challenges he wrestled with. But, I was mesmerized with the beauty of that family and his poetic speeches. Perhaps it was the music in his voice that connected with me at the deepest level. I wanted to be part of whatever he was selling.

I remember the day it all came to an end. I was in first or second grade when our principal came into my schoolroom and announced that someone had just murdered the President. My father pulled up in his new Pontiac Bonneville. As my sister and I approached it, the door locks popped up. We got into the car. Everyone was wordless. When we walked into the living room our mother was sitting in front of the TV sobbing.

For the next decade, optimism took a back seat to cynicism and contempt. Baby boomers engaged or revolted in a pointless war. After Watergate, they traded in their protests for credit cards.

But, we lost far more. John F. Kennedy was the last President before our political system was taken over by focus groups. Instead, he told us to take action. Kennedy inspired us to take responsibility for our lives, to give and contribute to the less fortunate. Here was a President that told Americans how to build upon our postwar optimism. Whether they liked him or not, American people joined hands in making the world a better place. He brought poetry into our politics by using words that soared. He spoke with such credibility that we listened.

Today, politicians promise they are going to fix things. They promise to give us jobs, cut taxes, put more in our pockets, save us from climate change or bring back coal and cashiers in malls. But, they never tell us we are responsible for how things have turned out.

Today, we can recite, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” But how many of us are living the words?

This Friday will mark the 56th year since his passing.

The motorcade carrying the President and his wife, the Governor of Texas, and his wife was on its way to the Dallas Trade Mart. The transcript of the speech he never delivered portrays ideals, and a way of being our country would do well to remember.

 On Leadership

“This link between leadership and learning is not only essential at the community level. It is even more indispensable in world affairs. Ignorance and misinformation can handicap the progress of a city or a company, but they can, if allowed to prevail in foreign policy, handicap this country’s security. In a world of complex and continuing problems, in a world full of frustrations and irritations, America’s leadership must be guided by the lights of learning and reason – – or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible will gain the popular ascendancy with the seeming swift and simple solutions to every world problem.”

On Partisanship

“There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility. Those voices are inevitable. 

But today other voices are heard in the land – – voices preaching doctrines wholly unrelated to reality, wholly unsuited to the sixties, doctrines which apparently assume that words will suffice without weapons, that vituperation is as good as victory and that peace is a sign of weakness. At a time when the national debt is steadily being reduced in terms of its burden on our economy, they see that debt as the greatest single threat to our security. At a time when we are steadily reducing the number of Federal employees serving every thousand citizens, they fear those supposed hordes of civil servants far more than the actual hordes of opposing armies.

We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will “talk sense to the American people.” But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense. And the notion that this Nation is headed for defeat through deficit or that strength is but a matter of slogans, is nothing but just plain nonsense.”

On the Nation’s Future

“Almost everywhere we look, the story is the same. In Latin America, in Asia, in the councils of the world and in the jungles of far-off nations, there is now renewed confidence in our country and our convictions.

For this country is moving and it must not stop. It cannot stop. For this is a time for courage and a time for the challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed. And our duty as a party is not to our party alone, but to the Nation, and, indeed…to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.

So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation’s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause – – united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future – – and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.”

When we embrace his message, We are not a Democrat or Republican.

John F Kennedy’s presidency didn’t happen because of what he was going to do for us.

It happened because of what he would ask of us.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post The Speech John F Kennedy Was About to Give on the Day He Died appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

Well, we are doing it in a trance. The numbers around employee engagement are so bad that odds are high many CEOs are also disengaged. People’s rank has absolutely nothing to do with whether they have succumbed to a trance. We witness the trance in executives who lazily cut expenses by laying people off or tell HR to “fix the engagement problem” and walk away.

What do we have to learn from CEOs running magnificent and magnetic cultures? While preparing my new book “The Workplace Engagement Solution,” I studied them. When we explore great cultures such as Southwest Airlines, Google, HBO and Trader Joe’s, we find CEOs that embrace many of the values that represent an “Engagement CEO.” When an executive goes about the business of building a category leader, talent moves to the front of the line in terms of the necessary characteristics within the CEO. Board members and investors would do well to find CEOs with these traits.

If you are considering joining an organization where you want to thrive, it is also smart to evaluate the CEO or business owner.

 An Engagement CEO

• Takes charge of the culture personally
• Develops a strong leadership brand as evidenced by their consistent behavior and message
• Walks the talk, leads by example and leans toward democracy over elitism in any form
• Expresses continuous, genuine and worthy praise to their employees
• Constantly seeks ways to keep their talent current and relevant
• Treats employees as the organization’s greatest asset instead of a potential liability
• Packages engagement as a profit source rather than an expense
• Effectively manages and educates all stakeholders in the need for effective people initiatives
• Moves the vision from short-term financial performance to long-term value, brand strength, and reputation
• Tells themselves and others the truth, especially about change
• Is resolutely and directly connected to the front line
• Is transparent and expects transparency throughout their organization
• Shows respect towards all employees and learns from all of them

Many will treat engagement as a sidebar activity, a perk provided to the employees. However, the purpose of engagement is far more rigorous than simply making employees feel better. Engagement is about being awake, interested, alert, invested and present. Real engagement moves an organization beyond the business targets.

Making the decision to lead business culture is one of the few competitive advances that are in control of the CEO. Alas, this basic truth doesn’t even cross the mind of many leaders who block the thought with, “I don’t have enough time” or, “Profit margins are too slim to give this attention.”

There are no shortcuts to success. We learn nothing of value through the study of dysfunction. Any CEO engaged in category leadership knows this. In the end, the quality of our talent is going to determine if we lead the market or continually run to keep up.

As I studied engagement CEOs, it also became clear they lead engagement for a series of business payoffs:

• A fully engaged culture and a superior employer brand.
• The best possible products and services, and excellence in everyone’s behavior.
• The organization makes the world a better place.
• The organization makes every attempt to fully engage with every customer.
• Recognizes there is simply no substitute for human decency, compassion, understanding, and pursuit for “the high road.”

On a practical level, here is one example:

We live next door to a huge Ralph’s Grocery Store. It is literally 100 yards from our front door to the store. And yet, we spend most of our shopping dollars elsewhere. The majority of employees are sullen, don’t look people in the eye. In the morning aisles are blocked because they are stocking shelves after the doors open. Disengagement isn’t limited to the customer experience, it also potentially impacts our health. We have had to either throw out or return spoiled produce and contaminated chicken.

I’ve often praised Trader Joe’s for its remarkable culture where the average tenure of cashiers is 19 years. There is a cashier that calls out our names. I asked her about the stories of the longevity and loyalty of their employees. She said, “Nineteen years? Those are the kids. I’ve been here for 26 years.” I asked her why. She responded, “We’re a family! Here’s an example. There have been many times when I come to work before the store opens. If the general manager is here first, I find him scrubbing and cleaning the bathrooms. No one pulls rank, we work together.”

The two organizations offer a remarkable contrast regarding CEO behavior. At Trader Joe’s, everyone knows their CEO, Dan Bane, because he regularly appears at the stores. As we returned rotten food to Ralph’s, I asked if they knew the name of their CEO. They didn’t know who he was. I also asked a couple of them if they knew anything about Yucaipa Companies. The response was, “Who are they?” Yucaipa owns Ralph’s.

One company has a CEO who visits, asks questions, listens, and strives to make Trader’s a better place to work.

The other one is a commodity. Everything feels and looks cheap. The employees give the consumer little attention.

Which company will be the first to convert to robotics and virtual check-outs?

There is the rub. Technology will not replace accountability, emotional interest, and problem-solving on behalf of their customers.

Dan Bane made it very clear that employees are the lynchpin for customer satisfaction and loyalty.

In the other company, employees don’t even know the CEO’s name.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post What is An Engagement CEO? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

The message was simple:

“If you are mentally or emotionally unwell, you ought to see a therapist. But, if you are intention is to become more successful, than you will realize far more value by seeing a coach.”

There are many great Psychology departments in our universities. These schools provide remarkable education in the techniques of facilitating emotional, physical, and behavioral breakthroughs. But, they offer nothing in teaching therapists and psychologists how to make a good living from the endeavor. Right now, the coaching industry is doing a far better job of teaching them life skills that build an affluent practice.

Years ago, I was asked to become a founding board member of the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association. In that environment, I became troubled by the fact that most coaches take a quick course and then develop their skills on the job. A psychologist is required to develop comprehensive technical skills before they connect with a client. On the other hand, the schools fall flat in helping graduates understand the world of commerce, of making a living or starting a business. This is why so many healthcare professionals partner with our company. But, their schools offered nothing to speak of in becoming proficient with sales, business development, digital marketing, and branding.

At Inspired Work, while I participated in the coaching industry, I have never viewed myself as a coach. Much of my education emerged from leading thousands of people through dynamic group programs. Many of our graduates have come back to us with the desire to help launch their first business, provide successful career marketing campaigns, and become more effective with their existing job or business.

I have never viewed myself as a coach. My role is as an orchestrator. Our two-day program moves clients into results that could take months in a one-on-one coaching process. Instead of spending gobs of time to define their ideal role, they have clarity in all they want to accomplish. In other words, rather than continuing with any form of aimlessness, they are directive, perhaps even bossy. As a result, we can go straight to designing a business plan, build necessary skills, make introductions to key hiring managers, or engage in marketing their career. Every client is a blank canvas that has been painted with their aspirations, needs, expectations, and shortcomings. Many coaches would find that too directive.

Today, I believe the coaching and psychology professions would have a great deal to gain by studying each other. Instead of spending so much time addressing each other’s shortcomings, consider their success. Psychologists tend to have far more comprehensive skills in dealing with emotional wounds, behavior, and self-actualization. But, they are given a minimal understanding of how to build a productive career, deal with a transition, or launch a new business. Our graduate schools offer nothing in terms of building the skills that can make us wealthy, nothing in how to construct a business platform that enhances our personal lives, and nothing in developing and marketing a brand.

On the other hand, the coaching profession could use a big dose of understanding of how to capture the complexities of human development. When there is a deficit in this area, a critical turning point can be missed by directly not paying attention. In the absence of an answer, how many tell the client, they don’t have an answer but will get one?

Another area in which both professions could use improvements is in expressing the actual value of their work. Far too many coaching professionals and therapists gloss over the return on investment. Here is an example. One of my close friends has been recognized as one of the best executive development coaches in the world. This masterful coach earns well over a million dollars per year. She accepts about eight clients per year. She is paid because of the results. When a client organization promotes a new executive into taking a significant role, they call her. If the net profits in that group are 40 million, by the end of that year, the gains are 2 or even 3 times that amount.

One of our clients recently encountered a big staffing challenge. One of the business units had almost 40 openings. We designed a solution for the executive, and each role was filled within 30 days. This saved over $300 in external fees and helped retain existing employees.

To summarize, the therapeutic profession needs to develop what we call “courage skills.” Conversely, many business people dismissively call them “soft skills.” These include learning how to sell one’s services, developing strong consultative sales abilities, being able to make effective presentations, and, most importantly learn how to improve the kinds of support systems that generate your business, intellectual growth, and standing in the community.

As for the coaching world, there really are no shortcuts to becoming a master. If you want to work with organizations, get mentors who are hugely successful in this area. Find coaches that can help you understand how to access and speak to the needs and expectations of an organization’s buying influences. Instead of focusing on making an individual feel better, help them understand how to build their self worth by hitting and even sailing past the business targets.

In all cases, the consumers must follow their gut and look for professionals with the skills and the emotional sobriety to help them achieve what they want and need. My most prominent personal bias in this area is that I will not work with a therapist on my long and beautiful, soon-to-be-married relationship if she or he is not in a successful marriage as well. I will not work with someone who is struggling with money to advise us on how to generate more revenue.

We learn nothing of value by studying dysfunction. Study the best.

Perhaps 20 years ago, a highly respected industrial psychologist came through our Inspired Work Program. As a result, he launched an executive and entrepreneur coaching business. Through the grapevine, I heard that he had become rather wealthy. This news irritated me. So, I took him out for a lovely dinner. Both of us are hard workers who don’t cut corners. I told him how irritated I was with the news that his economic worth was in the stratosphere and asked if he could tell me how to do that. He had become an instructor in a highly regarded business school where he worked with budding entrepreneurs. Whenever he worked with a start-up that he believed would become successful, he offered to replace monetary compensation for stock. Three of those businesses snowballed and became successful publicly traded companies.

From my vantage point, the number one reason people fail is through isolation. That is an outcome of fear. So many of us are frightened of getting attention because it might hurt us. At the very least, that hurt in history. Many coaches could become more effective in helping their clients learn from their past. But, an equally large number of therapists could look to coaches as a resource for looking into the future.

Personally, I believe it is time for the coaching industry to be subject to the same type of licensing that takes place with healthcare providers. To enter someone’s life and influence their minds and their outcomes is a sacred contract. But, I also believe that it is time for therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists to become far more versed in helping high-functioning, educated, and successful people attain even greater success and fulfillment.

Active learning, curious, joyful curiosity about becoming part of the cutting edge pushes away mediocrity. I don’t pay much attention to all of the vilifying directed towards 1%. Sure, there are some true pieholes in the wealth sector. But, there are just as many struggling to get by. Pay attention to the people that are changing the world. Learn from those who are growing every single day. Watch the people who are happy and effective, whether they are with their children at home or are standing in front of a board of directors.

I’ve been in the game of helping people love their work for almost 30 years. There have been countless times when someone asks if I can help them. My usual answer is an enthusiastic “yes.” But, there have been times where I’m clueless about how that will occur outside of the fact that when some of us say we will do it, we are willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.

Before launching our first program, I met with people who wanted to change their careers and their lives. One night, a young man came to my door. He looked a bit exhausted and scared. I asked what he wanted to accomplish. “I am dying from AIDS. I don’t want to stay home alone, waiting for the end. A friend of mine suggested that you might be able to help me get the most out of every day that I have left. Will you help me?”

I instantly responded, “Yes.” I was terrified. He died five months later. But, we worked together in helping him give to others and live with his definition of fulfillment. He told me of looking in the mirror at night only to realize he was not defeated. His demeanor surprised him because he was using all that was left to honor himself and others.

When he passed, his parents whisked away with his remains. When we met, he felt betrayed by their shame. Instead, we worked together in identifying what he most wanted to accomplish. I never saw him again, but he gave me the awareness of just how precious life is.

In a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, Adam Sandler did a piece as the owner of Romano Travel, telling the audience of their beautiful tours of Europe. But, he warned the viewer, “If you are miserable where you are today, you will probably be miserable when we take you to these beautiful places, filled with art and culture. You will probably be miserable when you sit down to a magnificent meal in Roma. So, if you are miserable, please stay home.”

The world today is filled with choices for all of us. The world is also changing so quickly that we need everyone with capabilities to help the rest of us learn how to change and become active contributors to the future.

Whether you are a coach or a therapist, a banker or investor, a billionaire or someone homeless, every single day offers a choice for us to use our time to become the best that we can be. Generously give yourself to others and the results might outstrip your wildest ambitions.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Coach or Therapist? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

The importance of American labor could be summarized in how we won World War II. Late to the fight, our workers played just as much of a role as soldiers by producing unprecedented quantities of ships, guns, planes, and vehicles. As the war concluded, workers had indeed, earned our deep respect.

In the 50s, we shifted our manufacturing capabilities by building the best cars and products in the world. We gave Veterans “first-in-line” access to jobs, and we created millions of homes at ridiculously low price-points. Through the sheer value of America’s talent, we became the world’s superpower.

In 1976, two famed economists at Harvard published a paper that would change virtually every aspect of running a public company. It is our collective illiteracy about this event that causes so many people to blame others without actually knowing how we got here. Michael Jensen and William Meckling published the now-legendary paper,

“Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs, and Ownership Structure.”

In it, they argued that corporations needed to align the interests of manage­ment and shareholders. To put this bluntly, they proposed the sole purpose of a corporation is to deliver and grow shareholder value.

For CEOs and shareholders, this was as healthy as leaving a ton of biscuits in a room with two dogs. For corporate executives, stock-based com­pensation became the alignment mechanism of choice. Consequently, their incomes skyrocketed. In the 1970s, CEOs of large, publicly traded companies earned less than $1 million in today’s dollars. Today, that average has grown to $11.4 million. The new model motivates CEOs to incessantly focus on stock value rather than enhancing the real, longer-term performance of the company.

During the past 40+ years, the entire investment market shifted from long-term investment in building organizations and markets to realizing as much out of stock value as possible and to reach that in the shortest period of time. Investment banking turned into a multi-trillion-dollar industry. CEOs and hedge fund leaders became the foundation for how we dealt with workers in large organizations. With stock value becoming the number-one pursuit, American businesses and CEOs traded the long view for volatility, thus shifting the dynamic interests between capital and labor. As providers of capital push CEOs for greater and quicker returns, cutting back on labor is now the easiest way to signal they are ad­dressing corporate financial performance.

Many workers were quite supportive of the American dream. But during the last 40 years, the average income has stagnated while hourly compensation dropped. Workers witness venture capitalists taking advantage of financial deregulation to buy companies, take out loans on the assets, and pay huge dividends to themselves. Many of these ac­quisitions went bankrupt as employees lost their jobs, health insurance, and pensions. These financial barons are often celebrated and admired, but it has also resulted in mass income inequality at an alarming trend. Was this done intentionally? I believe it was done blindly.

Many of America’s workers have watched their job, and financial security goes up in smoke. Anger, contempt, and cynicism turned into raging fires as they read stories of greedy CEOs backdating stock options and pushing the envelope to unethical, and sometimes illegal, degrees. But perhaps it was amorality that angered them the most. In many organi­zations, the underlying message was that when needed, workers mat­tered. However, the cycles of hiring and laying people off reached such dizzying heights that we now have a labor force that views work as a temporary assignment.

The single-minded pursuit of building shareholder value has weakened the strength of our country. There was a time when shareholders, employees, product quality, and customer satisfaction were equal. Sadly, by making shareholders primary winners of an organization’s profits, we now produce large quantities of cheap stuff. We often treat customers by examining how much irritation they will put up with before moving on.

As a post-war country, Cadillac was the “Standard of the World.” But after the Theory was embraced, GM began pulling every dime that could be turned over to management and shareholders. Materials infamously got cheaper. Instead of innovation, Cadillac built the Seville on a Chevy Nova frame and charged as much as an E-class Mercedes. Lee Iacocca famously revived Chrysler with the “K” car while his Pinto turned out to be more threatening than a hitman.

Everything became cheaper. The results can be experienced by sitting in any Cadillac model and then moving over to an Audi, BMW, Lexus or Mercedes. The late Lee Iacocca celebrated the fixation on shareholder value by building such notable products as the “K” car and the Pinto.

Today, our country faces a variety of significant challenges. Underemployment impacts half of our workers. Accelerating change is kicking far too many people to the curb. In the last 2 years, we have witnessed California’s utility companies cutting expenses so close to the bone that hundreds of people have lost their lives to fires. Even in the face of bankruptcy, they have paid their shareholders fortunes and kept millions in bonuses for themselves. The state’s governor Gavin Newsom is courting Warren Buffet to buy the land rights to our utilities. Perhaps this is a good time to understand that Warren never takes shortcuts. He rigorously upholds bringing integrity to every aspect of organizational practice.

I do not believe that change will come from anyone who is benefiting from the Theory. We will also not break out of the current state if most people don’t understand how we got here. Instead, But, I have great faith in our children and young people because they will not put up with this crap.

A few years ago, I flew into Calgary to deliver a keynote on employee engagement. My time in the flight was invested in reading the biographies of the CEOs and business owners attending the event. The vast majority of them were in petroleum. At the time, delays in the Keystone Pipeline and a downturn in the global market had turned Calgary into something of a ghost town.

At the beginning of my presentation, I said, “While flying into your beautiful city, I studied your backgrounds and your organizations. Since many of you are laying off thousands of employees, perhaps we could discuss self-change rather than employee engagement.”

The response was enthusiastic. Later, during Q & A, I suggested the possibility that many of the leaders in that conference would do well by investing in the future rather than waiting for the past to spring back to life. For example, we have many energy firms making that shift because they take the future seriously. But the room turned a bit dark when I said, If we don’t progress, our children will do it. Because they will not put up with this.”

Isn’t it time to declare Theory of the Firm a failure?

In terms of excellence, it has turned into a shortcut for reaching mediocrity.

Ironically, most of the people upholding and protecting the Theory of the Firm are in their 60s to 80s.

Perhaps our children actually are here to save the world.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post How Shareholder Fixation Built a Culture of Mediocrity appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

We met over coffee when I was in Portland to give a speech. My impression of her was that of a very bright, even brilliant woman who was a bit too big for the role she was playing. Not much later, a reorganization would change Trina’s role from one of development to remedial work, or we can call it, employee relations.

I knew that role quite well. For years, I worked with labor law firms and human resource groups in taking on high-risk employee relations challenges and spinning the circumstances into gold. That meant getting to the truth, resolving the problem and avoiding litigation. For quite some time, I enjoyed these challenges. It was a bit like becoming the Ray Donovan of human capital. But, the dynamics of working with enthused high potentials or participants filled with positive outlooks were far more nourishing for my soul.

For me, it took years to stop. On the other hand, Trina knew this wasn’t her within a much shorter time.

She flew down to Los Angeles and participated in a program that was filled with remarkable participants. Everyone in that room launched businesses for the first time or committed to new careers. Each person was gifted, motivated, and kind. When we were done, Trina asked me to help her with career marketing to find a better job. During the weekend, I had witnessed a leaning towards becoming a business owner. When I reminded her she responded, “No, I want to have one more big job before I do that.”

Now, I’m going to let everyone in on a secret. When someone realizes what they most want to do with their lives, if they put that off, the universe tends to send louder and louder messages. Fairly quickly, we found what looked on paper as a much better job, which Trina secured. But, I asked her, “Just one thing. Does the CEO lead the company culture? If not, keep your bags packed.” All too often, human resources or capital becomes the scapegoat for CEOs who don’t want to be bothered with culture and people.

Within a few short weeks after starting her new position, Trina called me and said, “I am ready to start the business.”

The next few months turned into an unfolding that moved both of us again and again. Trina had spent most of her early years at Intel, where human capital development was just as important as marketing and finances. She began her career in a technical role only to find that her success was based on her innate way of developing others. When Trina moved into organization development, she blossomed. There was one common thread with her success. She is extraordinarily gifted at taking technical professionals and turning them into leaders.

As we began the branding process, her comfort with technical leaders infused every conversation. There is usually a moment with incubating a new business owner where they have to choose to be a general brand or to define their unique purpose. There is a fear that if they get too defined, they will lose business. But, when we become crystal clear in our purpose, the people we want to become clients find us.

One day, I called her in the middle of the night and yelled, “How about Development 4 Nerds?” She started laughing and I added, “Let’s just use it as a working title.”

The initial resistance came up. She said, “Nerds feels a bit negative.”

“It was when you were a teenager. It came up in your branding process. But today, nerds own the world.”

All of a sudden, she interrupted me with, “I love it. I am a nerd and I love working with them.” That moment of becoming unique became a turning point because it also indicated deep self-acceptance.

I brought up that it is unusual to find executive coaches with a technical background. I asked, “How many executive development projects didn’t work out because the coach tried to remake the nerd personality?” It happens all the time.

Trina has become a walking and talking example of someone who learns how to honor every aspect of their career DNA. She has blossomed as a business owner. She enthusiastically engaged in consultative sales and social networking skill development. She learned how to write killer proposals and close deals. We helped her develop an amazing digital platform. As she developed these skills I’ve watched someone who used to be afraid of doing anything like this to a woman filled with confidence, joy, and pride in what she offers to the world.

People like Trina go through life with a commitment to innocence. These are the individuals who walk into a room to meet a new client without bias and a truly clean slate. That mindset requires courage.

In the 80s and early 90s, I was deeply involved in civil rights for the LGBTQ community. I worked with an organization that helped thousands of gays and lesbians come out of the closet as an act of love for the people around them. Someone would later ask me, “How did that experience impact your work today?”

I said that “Virtually everyone who comes to the Inspired Work Program is in the closet about something. As they define what they most want to do with their lives, as they learn how to succeed with that role, it is the same as coming out. The doubtful questions become part of the journey, “Will I be accepted? Will I survive? What will people think?”

And, after they get through that, what happens?

Freedom.

See for yourself. Take a look at Trina D’Amico’s site and you will find the new business owner that walks into her client’s offices with a beaming smile, who shows people how to lead and remain fully themselves.

How does she do it?

She is extremely well-educated and skilled. Perhaps the most important gift to her clients is that she is an extremely effective role model. To say she has become herself would be an understatement. To be well paid for that is the target of finding what she most wanted to do and bolstering the journey with an ever-growing willingness to change.

More about Trina at www.development4nerds.com

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post How One Woman Became a Unique Brand appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

Think about it. If people are unable to think about something else for only 15-seconds, sales pitches don’t work and ordering people around will never produce employee engagement.

We are motivated by one outcome: Fulfilled Expectations.

When we become skilled in accessing the needs and expectations of our stakeholders, we are more able to help them succeed. When stakeholders candidly talk about our strengths and weaknesses, we are more able to change. In a rapidly changing workplace, the ability to connect with others skyrockets. When we are able to motivate our teams in genuine ways, that investment pays off.

We designed our first leadership program for one of the world’s biggest media companies. When I ran that curriculum past our internal partners, they had strong reactions.

“If our managers ask these questions directly, someone is going to get hurt.”

I came back with, “Why on earth would you want a manager who is averse to hearing the truth?”

Prior to designing customized interviews, we invest a great deal of time learning details about each significant stakeholder relationship and business issues. We probe interpersonal relationships. We look for current and desired future states. This information helps us develop strikingly specific and brilliantly good questions. For the executives, the immersive experience of asking these questions and respectfully listening to the answers tends to be a life-altering experience.

Why is masterful inquiry such an important skillset?

Asking and listening was always preferable behavior than giving people orders. Stakeholders are far more driven when we connect with the needs and expectations. Socrates believed that we get the truth by asking the right questions.

Connectivity, this ability to fluidly find the truth of our stakeholders becomes especially important during accelerating change. Today’s leaders have to make changes more frequently and often with significant disruption. Hanging on to the old motivation chestnuts such as, “Do this or else” or “You should be happy to have a job,” destroy productivity and buy-in. Far greater success takes place if our language speaks to their expectations. In other words, finding ways to honor our expectations as well as theirs produces far better results.

We ask our leadership clients to tell us when their executives are receiving their packages from Inspired Work. There are always a few calls that begin with, “You can’t be serious. You want me to ask these questions?” Our reply is always the same. “Yes. Please note that all of them have received letters telling them what to expect, to be candid, and if there is any kind of retaliation to call us. We have yet to receive such a call.

It has been said, “the truth will set us free but first, it will piss us off.”

Consider the impact of just two questions:

“What do I do that motivates or demotivates you?”

“What can I do to become a more effective leader?”

My interpretation of humility is simply to be open. Albert Einstein once said, “I want to know the thoughts of God. The rest are details.” We often confuse humility with humiliation. The smartest leaders that I know are always humble, open to suggestions, eager to improve, asking for help, and acutely listening to others.

The most impressive leaders that I know are absolutely clear on their mission, vision, and purpose. But, they demonstrate real humility and skill in making it safe, even compelling, to tell the truth, find the truth and live in the truth.

This is the kind of leader that connects and improves employee engagement.

This is the leader that lives in transparency. Why is this so important? Everywhere that we look, we find organizations and leaders being toppled by the transparency revolution. Technology has taken our culture to a place where nothing is private, very little can be hidden, and if we attempt to do just that, the results can be spectacularly awful.

There are many organizations and individuals that have been totally caught off guard by the new reality. The payoff from full transparency will be spectacularly good. In alignment with the value of truth, transparency will force us to change for the better.

Consider the lost opportunity and the missing truth when we send out a consultant to conduct 360s or we have employees go online and participate in a “confidential” 360. As the landscape around us continues to speed up, the truth becomes of our most valuable assets.

Transparency will force us to work with nothing to hide and run our organizations with nothing to hide.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Just Why Do Leaders Need Truth? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

• United Airlines or Southwest Airlines?

• Google or Yahoo?

• Vons/Safeway or Trader Joe’s?

Odds are high that you have identified the better employer with each example simply through word-of-mouth or direct customer experience. Or, you might be seriously interested in working for one of these organizations and have read employee feedback at Glass Door and Indeed.

The war for talent is back but it bears little resemblance to the war employers were having just 12 years ago. According to Gallup’s latest global engagement survey, only 13% of the world’s workers are engaged. Today’s costliest and yet game-changing segment to recruit is the engaged worker. You know them. They are the ones who are awake, present, interested, actively learning, and able to change with the times.

Successfully reaching them requires a new mindset, especially around the weight and importance we give to brands.

• Consumer brands determine what we promise to our customers.

• Employer brands define what we become.

Here’s the rub. if we skimp on the second, the consumer brand becomes a lie.

True employer brands are not sanitized pitches. The best capture the very essence of a unique tribe with its mission, rituals, with expectations so clear that it is easy to define whether someone is a fit or not.

Here are a couple of examples:

During a leadership program at The Walt Disney Company, someone asked me to describe what I thought the company’s employer brand might be. I responded, “To produce magic at great profit in the midst of chaos.”

Disney has given far more thought to this topic. However, I have observed that if someone loves making magic at great profit in the midst of chaos at Disney, they will be there for decades. When someone isn’t cut out for that tribe, they will exit quickly and possibly become part of the naysayers towards the Disney culture. In any culture, there will be hires that don’t fit. A great employer brand helps identify that mistake quickly.

Make no mistake. The CEO must be in charge of the culture. All too many CEOs walk down the hall to human resources and tell the CHRO to, “fix the engagement problem” or “redefine the culture.” It does not work! Human resources executives tell people they are fixing the culture. Immediately, the tribe looks to the CEO and witnesses business as usual. They take an employer survey. All this accomplishes is to make the managers feel even more inadequate. Managers are sent to retreat centers. They come back enthused and the employees think, “So what.” Then, they start over.

I have a wide variety of individual clients who are human capital executives. Some are launching their own businesses, others are working towards stronger performance, and many are looking for new roles. I tell all of them, “If the CEO isn’t leading the culture, keep your bags packed.”

When a CEO leads the employer brand, we remove confusion from the tribe. In cultures that are led by a visionary and balanced CEO, the results can be spectacular.

The average tenure of a Trader Joe’s cashier is 18 years. The company boasts some of the most enviable customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and profit figures in the industry. The late and great founder Joe Coulombe established a culture of democracy and equality. Successors uphold that culture. Dan Bane, the company’s current CEO continues to visit stores and actually take action on feedback. Recently, I asked a cashier of 26 years why she is so loyal to the company.

She responded,

“It’s like this. A couple of weeks ago, I was the second person in the door. The General Manager had arrived early. He was in the bathrooms scrubbing floors and taking out the trash. She didn’t come over and ask me to step in. No one pulls rank here. I have always felt respected. I have always looked forward to coming to work.”

Today’s strongest employer brands are built on:

Transparency

Technology has produced a revolution in transparency. It is no longer enough to make up a story to recruit people when it isn’t true and the company either doesn’t or can’t live up to the brand. Glass Door and many other platforms pulled the covers off employers. Today, a savvy candidate can learn more about a hiring manager than many direct reports.

Don’t make things up! Build a strong employer brand that is based on the truth. If the truth isn’t so hot, fix your culture. The Transparency Revolution has impacted our culture with such force, most organizations are only beginning to come to terms with the fact that we can no longer hide anything.

Consider how transparency is impacting wrongdoing in organizations that paid off victims of sexual assault. Many of them have become cultures where the most skilled and self-confident talent won’t even consider working there. Because, everyone is a journalist and everyone has access. Candidates can find out whether your culture is a dead end, a place to launch a new career, an environment that is fair, a place where realizing potential is greeted with career growth. Many will know if the green initiative is the real deal or just lip service. They will go onto social networking sites and gather information about virtually everyone working in a department.

Don’t like this development? It doesn’t matter. Whatever your employer brand is, it ought to hold up to all scrutiny. In other words, it is far easier to live with nothing to hide.

Equality

I’m not suggesting what most people are thinking.

In the 70s, American business was seduced into an ideology that made shareholders the king of business. The new model actually led to CEOs becoming softer rather than stronger. They no longer had to give equal attention to customers and employees. With businesses viewed as commodities, the organization began factoring in how much irritation a customer would absorb in return for low prices. Employees became assets during good times and liabilities the moment there was a downturn.

We have paid dearly for that blind turn. If we want optimum performance in all settings, we have to respect all segments of the business. Strong employer brands give customers, shareholders and employees equal importance.

We need more CEOs who apply this kind of vigor to their own roles.

A Defined Tribe

The CEO or owner must define the tribe because any other attempts will become corrupt with differences and turf.

Virtually every great employer brand contained in this article produces images of the type of people who work there and what it feels like to be there. The brand tells a story so clearly that the morals, values, ethics are clear. The contract between employee and customer is effortlessly envisioned. For example, if you have ever had to call Apple for service, you have probably encountered someone who is accountable, personable, interested, and committed to solving your problem. Try that with a big box cable company. Many of us would view Apple as an abusive environment simpy as an extension of Steve Jobs personality. But, Jobs expected the same performance standards that he practiced on a personal level. Warts and all, he wasn’t one of those CEOs who promised the masses perfection without the necessary action to fulfill that vision.

In an era where morality is becoming more precious every day, an employer brand states clearly, how it handles issues of gender equality, diversity, solving its internal problems, and how it responds to crisis.

A great employer brand defines how to build strong relationships with other workers, which becomes the glue, it seems, within our best employer brands.

There is much more about employer branding and the CEO’s role in building a culture in my latest book, The Workplace Engagement Solution (Career Press).

In the interim, I welcome your comments.

The post Why the Employer Brand is the Most Important Brand of All appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

• United Airlines or Southwest Airlines?
• Google or Yahoo?
• Vons/Safeway or Trader Joe’s?

Odds are high that you have identified the better employer with each example simply through word-of-mouth or direct customer experience. Or, you might be seriously interested in working for one of these organizations and have read employee feedback at Glass Door or Indeed.

The war for talent is back but it bears little resemblance to the war employers were having 12 years ago. According to Gallup’s latest global engagement survey, only 13% of the world’s workers are engaged. The real war is focused on attracting the 13%. Unfortunately, the world is also filled with disengaged CEOs who believe if their company provides a commodity, in other words, low prices, customer satisfaction and employee morale are the expected casualties. How much irritation will an airline customer absorb in order to get a cheap ticket? If a grocer is the only game for the next 3 miles, of course customers will put up with expired dates on food and Yelp reviews that include, “The employees need to be put on suicide watch.”

For every CEO that makes excuses for rotten cultures and irritated customers, we find another company occupying the same niche that makes the employee & customer experiences their #1 foundation for success. Time and time again, we can examine Southwest, Trader Joe’s or Google and find unique employer brands that clearly spell out the characteristics of the tribe, the people who will fit into that tribe, and the expectations in how the tribe responds to the customer’s needs and expectations. Great employer brands can be clearly articulated and followed. The best establish consistent behavior which leads to faith for the employees and the customers.

In the late 90s, an administrator in our company insisted that we convert from Apple to PC. Tears fell as she pulled my old Mac out of my trembling hands. For the first time, we had software crashses and viruses. But, the turning point happened when I reached out to customer service at Microsoft and tried to solve a problem so I could work through the weekend. Three hours and ten minutes later, I gave up. During that time, I had been transferred over and over. I was talked down to, instructed to go through the same ineffective procedures repetitively and questioned if I was following their directions.

Today, we are an Apple proud company. The hardware works almost all of the time. But, when there is a problem, I have faith that a smart, humble, respectful, and above all, effective employer will help us.

Why are employer brands more important than consumer brands?

Because employees fulfill the promise of the consumer brand. If a customer’s actual experience differs from the consumer brand’s promise, they will leave because the organization has lied to them. A few years ago, we reached a tipping point with transparency. Every single consumer is a journalist and judge. Every employee has the option of revealing the truth around their employment experience. In fact, a savvy candidate can learn more about the hiring manager than many of the people reporting to her or to him.

Once the word gets out, the premium talent runs when they hear your name. As CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, in a now legendary act of desperation, spent over a billion dollars acquiring smart start-ups. But, she wasn’t pursuing unique technology or access to new markets. She couldn’t get the premium talent required to turn Yahoo around. Think of it. When Stanford’s best graduates hit the market they might be thinking, “Google, Apple, or entrepreneurship?” But Yahoo? Some of the world’s better candidates would view a stint at Yahoo as a career killer. They envision a tribe of stagnant stakeholders that torpedo change and go out of their way to fly under the radar. One client indicated getting anything done there was a bit like trying to get fresh bread in Russia.

For Yahoo as well as other employers, the employer brand determines what an organization becomes.

Getting personal, there is a supermarket within 300 yards of our home in Pacific Palisades. We only visit it when we have an emergency, such as needing an ingredient to finish a meal. Yelp reviews give feedback like, “The employees in this store ought to be placed on suicide watch.” We have encountered cashiers that hold conversations with other cashiers without ever looking a customer in the eye! As a result, for every dollar we spend at this store, we spend 20 at another store, which is five miles away and is a bit more expensive.

The nearest Trader Joes is 10 miles from our home. We drive in once-a-month to get supplies. The average tenure of the company’s cashiers is twenty-one years. While their prices compete with commodity oriented stores, the customer experience is as good as any luxury brand. A few months ago, I misplaced a pair of sunglasses at the store. I visited the manager’s desk who greeted me warmly and asked for my number. That afternoon, he called rather joyously. “We have your sunglasses Mr. Harder.” In thanking him, I brought up how wonderful every single employee I’ve ever met at Trader’s is a world-class person. He responded, “Thank you. We love our people and we love our customers.”

If you can’t attract the best talent in your industry, you will never achieve category leadership. Your employees will actively or passively practice disengagement. Customers will have lower rather than higher expectations.

Today’s savvy CEOs will not tell human resources to “fix the engagement problem” or “improve the quality of candidates.” They will answer basic questions like, “Who do we want to be?” “When people think of our employees, what comes to mind?” “If we want to attract the best talent in this category, what kind of culture do we need to build?” Ultimately, they will do whatever it takes to attract and grow the best talent.

I’ve seen the patterns so many times that when a human resource client discusses a job offer, my first question is, “Has the CEO taken ownership of the culture?” If not, they probably ought to keep their bags packed. Why? The usual pattern is the CEO will tell human resources to fix the culture. The CHRO starts telling employees everything is about to improve. The workers look past his or her shoulder to the CEO and see business as usual. They shrug. An employee survey is issued. The results make the managers feel more inadequate than ever. They are sent to a leadership and come back filled with enthusiasm. The employees respond, “So what?” The human capital executive is shown the door for failing the culture. How many of you have witnessed this sacrificial ritual?

Employer brands are not perfect. However, they are honest. For years, The Walt Disney Company generated mixed feedback in the talent market. When we designed new leadership programs for the company, I had the privilege of working with some of their best and brightest from all over the world. In the midst of a program, one executive asked, “What do you believe is Disney’s employer brand?” I thought about it for a moment and responded, “The employer brand is to attract the talent that creates magic at great profit in the midst of chaos.”

The room went silent for a moment, followed by a few gasps of recognition and then broke out into laughter. For someone who loves creating magic at great profit in chaos, they will fall in love with Disney and stay for years. If they don’t, they will find the environment insufferable.

This past year, United Airlines reminded millions of consumers of the cynicism and contempt that permeates their culture. Lost and dead pets, customers dragged out of their planes, unruly environments, and damaged baggage. Today, many travelers will only board a UA flight is there is no alternative. The company doesn’t have an equipment problem, it has a talent problem. But, one CEO after another places cost-cutting ahead of customer experience and employer brand. The results speak for themselves. Flight attendants ask pilots to raise the temperature in the cabin so more people will pass-out. Pilots purposely delay landings in order to get a bit of overtime without hitting the mark that produces a report with the FAA.

Uber might have been one of the country’s most successful start-ups in many years. But, their contempt towards female employees and drivers has led to perhaps the first time in business history where consumers are mindfully selecting Lyft because its spiritual and moral principles are superior. That said, Uber appears to be in a tremendous and costly drive to build a culture of high performance and integrity.

Bottom-line? There are no shortcuts in building a great organization. In the end, people will sustain your success. The best talent will make you a category leader.

Why has the employer brand become more important than the consumer brand?

• The consumer brand is what we sell.
• The employer brand is what we become.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Why the Employer Brand Became More Important Than the Consumer Brand appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

The consequences of running businesses with this mentality are on full display in retail where lowered standards around the customer experience and employee value fueled a seismic shift driven by Amazon.

In the airline industry, employees are often treated with such disdain that flight attendants will ask the pilots to raise the cabin temperature so passengers become more lethargic. Pilots often delay flights on purpose, just to get a bit more overtime.

In a market filled with lowered expectations, Herb Kelleher turned Southwest Airlines into a cult hit. Even though the company offered some of the lowest fares, they treated employees and customers with respect and an initiative to make travel as fun as humanly possible. They hired upbeat people. They provided an environment that kept employees upbeat. Over the years, Kelleher eliminated unvalued services and introduced a variety of innovations that made travel far more efficient for the entire industry. A culture grew where employees took their jobs seriously and themselves not seriously at all. This past January, Mr. Kelleher passed away and many in the airline industry view him as one of their greatest leaders.

All business and talent strategies must grow if they are to remain fresh. When Gary Kelly took over Southwest in 2013, he introduced a new set of aspirations to all of their employees. He asked everyone to support a vision of becoming the most loved, most flown and most profitable airline in the world.

What did he do to grow the culture of the company?

He suggested that people who fly carry interesting and profound stories in their travels. He suggested that employees become part of their stories, to listen in why they were traveling. He suggested that listening was not only a wonderful way to elevate the passenger experience, it would also raise the tone of working at the company. As I researched the specifics, there were many anecdotes about family travel, important business journeys, and more. Over the last few years, there is a growing and living body of work that not only bonds employees to each other but to the passenger as well.

One story stood out in an unforgettable manner. A woman named Nancy sent the following letter to Mr. Kelly:

“Last night, my husband and I got the tragic news that our three-year-old grandson in Denver had been murdered by our daughter’s live-in boyfriend.”

Her husband had to get to his daughter as quickly as possible. He was on a business trip. In Los Angeles, the crowds were so backed up that he was going to miss the plane. TSA could have cared less. But, a flight attendant from the first leg of his journey had already called ahead to the pilot of the last plane. He ran to the gate expecting to see everyone gone.

The pilot of his plane and the ticketing agent were waiting for him.

They both said,

“Are you Mark? We held the plane for you and we’re so sorry about the loss of your grandson.”

Today’s greatest CEOs represent far more than a positive balance sheet. They build cultures that matter. They are never too busy to demonstrate heart. They instruct their employees to think and feel rather than yelling, “hurry!”

Lowering prices doesn’t equate to lowering interest and care. At a time when we witness passengers being dragged from planes and stories of routine misery, the companies that wait by the gate and listen regardless of whether the passengers story seems trivial, funny or profoundly sad, these are the organizations that we ought to study and emulate.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

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