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WHEN YOU communicate a set of values out to your customers, some of them will reject your message. But then again, others will be attracted to it.
This WILL polarize your customer base.
But that shouldn’t scare you off, because this kind of thing happens all the time. If I have a restaurant which targets the affluent, it’s going to turn off those people who are cheapskates like me. But another restaurant which highlights affordable meals for the masses will be looked down upon by those who believe it’s beneath them.
BRIAN and PAM DAY are an amazing couple. They’re bringing an approach which is helping people on their spiritual journeys.
I’ve known Pam for a long time as a friend and experienced and gracious coach. I think I first met Brian at a Christmas party a decade ago, but it’s hard to remember exactly when.
I’ve been following their journey, which has taken them to the ends of the earth, literally and spiritually.
GREEN RIDE COLORADO is a well-known local award-winning leader in shuttle buses to and from Denver International Airport. For such a commodity service, people are constantly surprised at how they give a special experience of customer service and professionalism.
It all starts with the culture.
I had a chance to speak with Bob Flynn recently, who started Green Ride with Ray Schofield, and is a wonderful friend. He wanted to start this company because he was tired of working for bosses who treated employees like generic machines. 
And he really didn’t like being a manager in that environment.
So Ray and Bob went out and started their own company, to create the kind of employee culture that they would love.
TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES is a US-based company with a powerful mission to create opportunities for artisans in developing countries. Formed in 1946, they now buy from 37 countries, have 78 branded stores in North America, about 260 other retail partners, and sales of $42M for the year ending March 2012.
They are one of the largest and most successful fair-trade organizations on the planet.
I had a chance recently to speak with Wendy Poppen, who runs our local store. She brings a powerful passion in this role: “I’m going to leave this planet a little better than I found it.”
PEOPLE are sometimes puzzled by this concept of “deep values” in the for-profit world. Partly that stems from an overlap with the idea of altruism.
Altruism is the idea of putting others’ needs ahead of your own, being able to give without expectation of return. We do this all the time in our families: You’ll help out others just because of the close relationship, not because you expect something back. Well, not exactly true – you expect a certain amount of reciprocation, or trust and closeness will degrade over time. But that’s not very specific.
And in the case of the commitment to your spouse or kids, you’ll give and give and give.
YOU SEE this all the time: A company once respected and admired has become a shell of its former self. Employees wonder why they’re still around, other than to pull down a paycheck. Customers turn cynical because there’s no longer any credibility behind the high-minded words.
You can probably name as many examples as I can. But why would we struggle to name even one company which has gone the other direction?
DEEP VALUES are surprisingly hard to nail down.
This is because you see wonderful statements masquerading all the time as deep values, the foundation of the company.
An interesting example came up recently: Walmart. I remember back in the 1970s when they had a strong statement about “Made in the USA.” Proud of this fact, they made it a central point of their advertising for several years. You would have been forgiven if you assumed that this was a core belief of a company home-grown in Bentonville, Arkansas.
LAST YEAR I ran across a gentleman who runs the local LearningRx franchise. I’d never heard about them before, but they do some amazing things with helping children learn. And adults too!
This person offered a very generous gift: a free copy of The Purpose Directed Business. This book was written by Dr Ken Gibson, the founder of the company, and really captures the philosophy behind what the company’s about.
In a word: Leadership.
REVELATION CHIROPRACTIC is based here in Fort Collins, and I had a chance recently to speak with the owner, Dr Chad McMahan. I met him a couple of years ago when he was starting out new.
As you can tell from the company name, he has a statement to make about combining his Christianity into his business. It’s out there front and center – literally. He picked the name because “revelation” means “to bring something to light which was hidden.”
It’s what he does.
THE OTHER DAY I happened across this article which describes a company culture that few would dare emulate.
It’s quite startling.
Their idea is to have a company where roles are incredibly fluid, where almost everything is transparent, and value is created through unrestrained creativity and teamwork.
Pure chaos, you’re thinking!
