"People still matter more than profit. And they always will."
- People Over Profit, page 195
"Every day you have a choice to be honest or deceptive. If you commit to telling the truth, you will win. You’ll win more trust, you’ll win more business and you’ll win more peace of mind. You’ll break the system and be more successful."- People Over Profit, page 89
The world is full of lies. Politicians can’t help themselves and companies do it all the time, as illustrated in such documentaries as Supersize Me; Food, Inc.; Waiting for “Superman”; and Sicko. There is no doubt that company reputations were severely damaged by these documentaries which exposed rampant public deception. Partridge demonstrates that all companies, whether new or established, need to institute strong principles around truth. Businesses that embrace truth will gain trust and capture customer attention.
There are three parts to this:
Committing to honesty is not easy, otherwise more companies would adhere to these principles. Honesty must be part of your core values, and both leaders and managers must lead with integrity and honesty.
Sevenly, for instance, don’t hire employees until they have signed a “position results description” that outlines all expectations of results and performance so that the new employee can never say “I never knew this would be part of my job”.
"Generosity is not something that an organization does, it’s something an organization is. Many companies get into trouble because they don’t understand the difference."- People Over Profit, page 129
The primary purpose of business has always been profit, which is all about taking without giving in return. Generosity is the opposite—it is giving without expecting anything in return. Adam Grant’s study of behaviour established that with the current rise of the service industry, givers have become more successful than takers and matchers in business. Sevenly has an inbuilt core value of generosity, not only to charities but also employees, which provides them with a gift box, lunch vouchers to use with other employees, a brand new Apple computer, a copy of the book StrengthsFinder, and a gift voucher for a friend to use at Sevenly.
Every company can afford something; it is not beyond any company to be generous. The point is to start, even it’s a very small gesture. Allow your team to perform the extraordinary and the freedom to become generous, within reason. Partridge shares the story of a Morton’s The Steakhouse employee who responded to a Tweet from a customer on a flight who jokingly wanted a steak dinner delivered when he landed. With two and one half hours an enterprising Morton’s employee had noticed the Tweet, arranged with his team to have the meal cooked, delivered and driven twenty three miles to the airport. The story positively impacted the company’s reputation through social media, blogs, journals, and now in this book. When generosity is genuine and given without any expectations in return the results are nearly always positive for the company.
In my business, we have introduced an annual special client membership with a portion of the income going to charity. We pay for gym/yoga classes and weekly drinks on Friday afternoon, as well as training allowances of up to $2,000 per employee.
"It takes work, therefore, for a company to do business with eyes wide open. Organizations that operate under this belief take account of how every person they touch is treated and then implement high standards."- People Over Profit, page 64-65
Partridge’s mantra of people over profit sounds great but is inherently difficult to implement (and particularly maintain) given the business cycle phenomena as described above. To give your company a “people matter” reputation, you must uphold the following convictions:
Businesses can be good at valuing some of the people they touch, but few value them all, which is what separates the companies with a true social mission. Businesses should not be afraid to operate with an eye to altruism from the start up level on. They should be prepared to broadcast their generosity and socially conscious choices to the community, and value their people implicitly.
Social missions have become a new social norm and businesses have a chance to open new ways of attracting clients through generosity, collaboration and social responsibility. You don’t have to wait until you are runaway successful to start. Profitability may well follow.
Dale Partridge is a National Bestselling Author and Founder of StartupCamp.com. Described as “a mind who feels the trends before market,” Partridge teaches leaders and organizations how to position their brand, love their people, and develop profitable corporate social responsibility programs.
