Are you concern about the performance of your people? Looking for ways to increase productivity? If yes, then you are in the right place at the right time. I’m going to share with you why “CULTURE” is so important. Are you ready?
Here we go:

1. If you see a man without a smile, give him one of yours. 🙂 it’s FREE…by the way, you look much better when you SMILE. People rarely succeed at ANYTHING unless they ENJOY it. If you are responsible as a leader, walk around, shake hands, and call people by their first name- every single of them.

2. Communicate openly, let your people know what’s going on, it’s sometimes very uncomfortable BUT the IT IS the only way you can build a great CULTURE.

3. Treating people with dignity, trust and confidence in people as well as providing them with an opportunity to make decisions and become PARTNERS rather than just participants (workers). The “sense of belonging” is so crucial to build a great culture. Let me give you an example of a successful business through people…Hewlett-Packard (HP) and their corporate philosophy: “the achievements of an organization are result of combined efforts of each individual….” And a few sentences later HP reinforces it’s commitment to innovative people, a philosophy that has been a driving force in the organization’s success. “FIRST, should be highly capable, innovative people throughout the organization…SECOND, the organization should have objectives and LEADERSHIP who generates enthusiasm at all levels.

4. Successful organizations with good leadership [should not] have a tight! military-type organization, but rather…give people the freedom to work toward the VISION in ways they determine BEST for their own areas of responsibility.

5. I like to give you another example of a successful organization; Bankers Life and Casualty Co.
I’ve the honor to work with this great company for the past 15 years. The most extraordinary trait at Bankers Life has been the uniformity of commitment, the consistency of approach and attitude. Bankers people at all levels show positive energy and enthusiasm. With more than 300 locations everyone feels like a winner. The opportunity to serve others has been given to the team members.

The key ingredient is productivity through people and Bankers has done that pretty well.
Leadership believes that your success is only possible if you provide a great training system to your people and give them opportunity for development so they can improve their skills, expand their career opportunities or simply further their general education.

(Bankers Life; Established in 1879 in Chicago, Bankers Life and Casualty Company focuses on the insurance needs of the retirement market. The nationwide company, a subsidiary of CNO Financial group, Inc. (NYSE: CNO), offers a broad portfolio of health and life insurance and annuities designed especially for retirees.)

6. Language; the language in people oriented organizations has a common flavor. Once they start talking the philosophy, they may start living it, even if, initially, the words have no meaning. For example, “Living a Life of Significance with Bankers Life”, “The HP Way” or so many other examples…. But I doubt they meant very much to anyone when the language was first introduced. As time went by, the phrase took a deeper and richer meanings in ways that no one would have suspected.

7. Leadership; everything starts right here, right now.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others” ~JACK WELCH

Build a solid culture, communicate your vision and start leading by EXAMPLE…AND don’t forget to SMILE at every turn 🙂

Cheers!