Culture: What a difference it makes!Learn Management Articles on management-info.biz. Culture: What a difference it makes! article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
For three years, I had the opportunity to work for the company that this man headed up before he decided to sell his successful enterprise to a large, old school retailer. We were all very happy for him. This sale was going to mean a lot more time for he and his wife to travel and generally enjoy life after a lot of years of hard work and dedication to their business. We were saddened to be losing such a great leader but we knew he deserved the rest and we wished him well. Those three years were perhaps the most rewarding and educational years of my entire career, one that spans over twenty years. The company was managed in such a way that you had no choice but to feel like an important part of it. No employee was ever treated like a number, unworthy of receiving up to date communication on what was happening within the company. The executive were always aware of the impact their actions would have on store personnel and customers. In this company everyone understood where, and by whom, sales were made and every effort was made to include input from the field whenever important decisions were being made that would affect employees or customers. The man I speak of did not always have a successful company on his hands. At one time, as I understand, the company had been on the brink of failure. He, and his loyal employees managed to save it. It was quite a feat, requiring dedication, a new direction and a new way of being. Sam did many, many things to move his company in the right direction. To detail all of them would require a book, which I hope he will write some day, and a lot more information than I have available to me. I did not know this man as well as some of my colleagues did but I know, for certain, that he is a man with integrity. If he says it, you can take it to the bank. By the time I came on board the company was doing very well. A brand new culture had been built. That's right...built. Culture is something you build with every word you say and every action you take. A positive culture does not come about by accident. It takes a lot of soul searching and checking with people and just when you think you have it all figured out you have to check again. It takes the ability and the willingness to know and admit that you don't know everything and you don't have all the answers. It takes a desire to get input and feedback from the people affected by a given situation. It takes the guts to take action to fix something that's not working. It takes coaching and loyalty and lending a hand to those who need it. It takes understanding that people don't make mistakes because they want to. It takes a firm, but kind, word to someone who messes up. It takes the ability to foster a feeling of belonging among those who are in your business family. Sam certainly did all of these things and he worked tirelessly to ensure his executive and management teams did also. Store Managers were invited, and expected, to have an impact on the whole organization and not just their own store. If she made a request there were only two acceptable outcomes. 1) The request was granted and a date for completion was to be given or 2) The request was not granted and the reasons were explained. It did not stop there if the Store Manager was not satisfied with the outcome. She was never expected to settle for an answer that did not satisfy her. The process that ensued was one of open and on-going dialogue until either the Store Manager became convinced and was satisfied with the reason that her request could not be granted or she managed to convince her Manager that the request should be granted. It wasn't over just because someone said it was over. And the company flourished. Following the news of the sale of the company, most field management stayed in place for some time. Unfortunately, as with all good things, the culture we had come to know and love ended. It was like a period of mourning. Executive and management moved on to new challenges and the business went straight down, at least for the short term. The new owners will never understand what happened. There will be reasons and excuses but they all amount to nothing. The truth, that they probably do not even realize, is that the great culture was run out of town; obviously deemed unnecessary and not worth saving. It's that simple and it's such a shame. Those of us who lived in Sam's environment clearly understand what happened when he and his carefully chosen team were no longer at the helm. The key to sustaining a successful business is to RESPECT the culture - after all, the business is secretly thriving on it; OBSERVE carefully, for a time, and then ACT appropriately.
|
More Articles:1. The Leadership Imperative: Making Your Leadership Your Life PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.comWord count: 468Summary: The author describes a vision of leadership that you can use throughout your career. It's a vision that will also help enrich your life. The Leadership Impe… 2. Take Action with PMS - Productivity Management SystemTM “Success is about deciding what’s important versus what’s irrelevant in your life; it’s about self-motivation, self-discovery, self-confidence and enjoying the rewards of achieving your goals.” Heidi Richards This is part three in the PMS - Productivity Management System™. This is your to-do list of processes and steps you must take in order to fully realize your goals. Once you have crystallized exactly what it is you wish to accomplish, it is important to know which steps you must take and in… 3. How to Turn a Difficult Meeting into a Positive Meeting By Alan Boyer Have you ever heard someone offer a positive idea in a meeting and nearly everyone around the table shoots it down immediately? There seems to be more reasons why it can’t or shouldn’t happen than in ways to make it happen. Many times these meetings become downer meetings, spiraling downward toward failure, and everyone leaves in frustration.Does it seem that your meetings never accomplish anything?Stop fighting the negative and use the negatives to drive toward the positive. Dr. Bluma Zeigarn… 4. Driving Corporate Performance with Employee Benefits In today's economy, companies of all sizes are facing a number of challenges that require urgent action. Health care costs are rising, pension obligations are growing and top talent is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit in the rebounding job market. Among the most significant business trends, competitive pressure on American workers is increasing at a rapid pace as offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) becomes more effective in performing traditional American jobs at much lower cos… |
||||
