Every small business is a reflection of the dream it was built on. To some degree, it is also an extension of the entrepreneur’s personality.
Both of these characteristics are genuine advantages when it comes to imbuing values to a business organization. There are very few large corporations that are recognizable reflections or extensions of their CEOs, especially in these times when chief executives are bought, sold and traded like star athletes. Larger corporations usually reflect shareholder values and little else.
The net result of this difference is that big companies have to spend a lot of money to develop a corporate culture and attempt to imprint its values on their unsuspecting workers, management and customers. And most of the money is wasted.
Small-business entrepreneurs and managers can do the same thing, and do it better, for a lot less money. In fact, it can be done for no money at all.
The reason why corporations keep throwing millions of dollars at corporate culture despite the disappointing results is that investor values are not enough to sustain an organization and give it the kind of vitality and resilience it needs to thrive in today’s world.
The same need for sustaining values exists for smaller businesses, too, and while it’s best not to mention “corporate culture,” a forward-looking entrepreneur makes sure that his or her values do not fade or disappear entirely as the business grows.
The single most important thing that an entrepreneur can do to imprint his or her values on the business is to select people who share those values.
No single individual gives us a better example of how important this is and how to do it than Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, who really created the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine program from scratch. You can imagine what his work day and to-do lists looked like, but somehow he found time to interview each and every commissioned officer who had applied for nuclear submarine assignment. No officer boarded a nuclear sub for duty unless he had successfully completed this personal interview.
What was Admiral Rickover looking for in these interviews? It wasn’t technical expertise and aptitude — he could get that from the academic records. It was a sense of personal responsibility as well as dedication to ideals and others.
Admiral Rickover was not a perfect man, or even a perfectly consistent man but he got America what it needed and what he wanted: a superior nuclear submarine force with an unblemished radiation accident record. And it is no coincidence that he did it with people he picked by hand.
His methods probably would not fit your needs, but his idea of personal selection is a good one — and it can serve several purposes in your business.
A good way to start is simply to involve yourself in job candidate interviews, especially those close to a decision. Let your supervisor or manager run the interview, while you will provide an introduction to the company, its origins, where it is headed and what it is like to work there — the company’s “story” and its values.
Remember that there are two listeners to the company story: the job applicant and the supervisor or the manager conducting the interview. It is important for both of them to hear it from you; keep your eyes open to see what kind of response you’re getting from each.
A job applicant worth spending interview time with is worth recruiting as an enthusiast for your company and its values, even if he or she doesn’t get the position. Give them a taste of what a business looks like when things are done right. “Classy” is an often overused word, but you should make it fit here.
What that means here is a letter (not an email or text message) to applicants not selected, notifying them of the decision and thanking them for their time and interest. It can be a form letter if it must, but, if so, make sure that you include a personal note referring to the interview.
The goal is to have each candidate, even if rejected, come to realize that your business is doing great things and is a great place to work. They will not keep this information to themselves.
Neither will your supervisor or manager running the interview. Refreshing the company’s values, its beginnings, purpose and goals, will remind them of why they joined in the first place and this will help you to get that message to others on your team.
There are many more things that you can do to ensure that your company’s dream doesn’t fade and its values aren’t forgotten as the business grows, but none are more effective.
James McCusker is a Bothell economist, educator and small-business consultant. He can be reached at otisrep@aol.com.
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