By Bill Curry
Very successful companies like Starbucks, Zappos, Costco, Chipolte, Whole Foods Market, Panera, Southwest Airlines, and the Container Store are all run by leaders who espouse the philosophy of Corporate Consciousness.
Advocates of Corporate Consciousness (CC) believe that business can be conducted without any tradeoffs. That everyone can and should win in business; the employer, stockholders, employees, vendors and the customers. The leaders of these companies enjoy making money both for themselves and for their employees. They consider their approach the best and easiest way to run a company.
The principles of CC are:
- There is a purpose, other than making money, that drives the company.
- Each component of the enterprise is equally important: the employees, customers, suppliers, the community, the ecosystem, and the shareholders.
- Education for all is the company’s responsibility and strategic tool.
- The leader’s focus is to bring out the best in people.
- The company’s culture fosters appreciation and trust.
CC begins with the company leader. The leader must be driven by passion in all that they do. Great leaders live a passionate life beyond their business. They are passionate about their family and friends, about themselves (their health and personal growth), and their outlets (these may be organizations, sports, hobbies, religion, etc.). They have clarity on what they need to do to be the best they can be in all that they do.
They have a plan for all these components of their life. They take responsibility for their own success and never make excuses, complain or blame others for their failings. They do what is important and necessary first and find supporters to do what they should delegate or what they cannot do well.
Go into a Costco and measure the employees engagement compared to another box store. Look at how hard the employees in Panera work in delivering a consistently great product to their customers. Compare how much fun the Southwest employees are having and the knowledge that Whole Foods Market employees have about the products they sell.
Interview those employees about their companies and they will tell you they really enjoy working there because they are respected and trusted, it feels like a family, they earn a lot more money then similar companies would pay them, and they have fun. They will tell you that everyday starts with a huddle where they are told how the company is doing (yesterday’s sales, etc.), what is going on with the company (they are kept in the know) and they are reminded what the company purpose is and how that relates to how they do their work.
The Container Store has a less than a 10% turnover rate, an amazingly low number for a retailer. Costco employees are paid nearly double what chain store employees receive. Zappos employees are empowered to do whatever it takes to satisfy a customer. CC leaders trust their employees and treat them all as being as important to the success of the company as any other employee.