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CHRIS HUTCHINSON heads up Trebuchet Group here in Fort Collins. They deliver extraordinarily powerful consulting for their clients, particularly around leadership development and organizational change.
I had the opportunity speak with Chris (CEO) and his wife Diana (COO) this week. I’ve been wanting to have this conversation for awhile, because I’ve been following the company for four years now and have been impressed with the distinct character that they’ve built.
THIS MORNING I read yet another article on “Why business plans don’t work.” It seems that these things crop up periodically, perhaps when people are frustrated, or just trying to display their mental superiority.
I hope I’m a little more humble than that.
Here’s how I view it: If you have unrealistic expectations of a business plan, then of course you’re going to be disappointed. Some people expect that a plan will remove all risk, and force reality to align with your desires.
That’s unrealistic.
YOU MIGHT THINK that this is a flippant question, but I’m serious. Our values DO change during the course of our lifetime, so it’s quite possible that a shift will occur which causes you to change the values of your business.
A common shift comes when you figure out that your business plan just isn’t going to work anymore. Even if it was successful at one point, you now know that you’re headed for failure. It’s time to pivot your strategy and take a different approach.
But this doesn’t necessarily imply any change to your values. It may totally change WHAT you’re doing and HOW you’re doing it, but not WHY.
WHEN YOU are building a company based on deeper values, it’s critical to align your actions with your employees.
No, I’m not talking about the plaque on the wall stating your principles. I’m not talking about your employee training program. Both are important, I suppose, but they lose their value to reinforce attitudes on a day-to-day basis.
In Corporate America lingo, I’m talking about Reinforcement, Recognition, and Rewards.
Reprinted with permission from today’s guest blogger, Jon Hokama!
“To have a firm persuasion, to set out boldly in our work, is to make a pilgrimage of our labors, to understand that the consummation of work lies not only in what we have done, but who we have become while accomplishing the task.”
-David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea (emphasis mine)
While employed in corporate America, I drew strength and inspiration from David Whyte’s book, Crossing the Unknown Sea. I began reframing the challenges of that environment as an influence over my character which was being shaped for good at times and for ill at others. Remembering Whyte’s insight, a classic movie was the poetic inspiration that burnished a waypoint mirror for my current journey toward business maturity.
THIS WEEK I had a chance to participate in the CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium. That may not seem relevant to a business-related blog, but it actually is.
I do this because I’m passionate about the subject, but also because it re-centers me back on to some of the core values in my life. In this case, it’s spiritual, but I do other things to keep other values focused in my life.
When you’re trying to direct a values-based business, this is quite necessary. Read the rest of this entry »
THOSE OF YOU here in Fort Collins know how crazy it would be to leave OtterBox and their amazing employee culture.
Kristin Golliher did exactly that, back in February last year. To start a new business called WildRock Public Relations & Marketing. She has great passion for what she does: providing professional services to companies large and small across the nation.
But she has an even deeper passion for the kind of company she’s trying to create.
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.
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?
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.
The Values-Based Business 