I spent three days at a Fortune 500. Like all companies, it is not perfect, but it is one of the most purpose driven companies I have visited. At every level the people are filled with passion, and they communicate it. In every conversation I recorded what I call “the golden sentences.” These are the statements that standout, that capture my attention. Each comes from a different conversation, but here I list them in two categories with similar statements appearing close together. Please consider the statements.
Culture
- At my former organization there was a bizarre culture, it was each man for himself, by Fridays I did not know who I was. That went on for five years.
- It is hard to have a bad day in this company.
- This company changed my life. I believe anything is possible.
- We are a company that is not embarrassed to talk about servant leadership.
- In an organization with a positive culture, the leader can go down, and the team continues to excel.
- When we are doing hard things, we need energy. A great culture is comprised of engaged people doing hard things while exchanging positive energy.
- This next year is going to be hard for every corporation and it is going to be hard for us, but we have a history of pulling together and doing hard things.
- Now is the time to draw on our history and our culture, to be us more than ever.
Leadership
- The distance between us and our competitors is less than the distance between us and our full potential.
- The key is to take care of yourself physically and spiritually, then to help others take care of themselves. You grow yourself, you grow your team, and grow the business.
- Every day my job is to create a better culture than yesterday.
- The question is how to be great right now, in this context, with its unique challenges.
- I have changed my leadership more in the last 18 months than in my entire career.
- I have become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
- I want each person to know their personal purpose and I want them to connect it to the company purpose.
- My job is to help everyone take the enterprise perspective, to see the common good, and then exercise the courage to make hard decisions at their level.
- Leadership is caring deeply. I am intense about the goal, and sensitive with the people.
- Every time you say a negative word, you reduce the effectiveness of your team. You always deal with reality, but you do it positively.
- Leadership is learning. There is a difference between leaders and great leaders, pay attention to what great leaders do when they make a mistake.
Reflection
- Describe your image of an inspirational culture?
- How does a leader create an inspirational culture inside an uninspiring hierarchy?
- What could I do that I have never done?
- How could we use this passage to create a more positive organization?