Embedding good at the core of your business

- In today's workplace, it's easy to go through your day focused on what you need to get done. What's the most profitable activity for you, or quite frankly, what involves the least amount of effort? Well like Teddy Roosevelt said, "Nothing in the world is worth having "or worth doing unless it means "effort, pain, difficulty." While I don't think that's true for everything, it certainly applies to many business decisions. Think purposeful about having good at the core of your business culture, as opposed to merely existing for profit, is not easy. Having a well-defined purpose and a clear perspective of how you see and communicate to your team, collaborators, clients, and community requires a constant effort. This all starts at the leadership level and is echoed through hiring, training, and communications. Having good at the center of your culture, being a company that builds around core values such as service, respect, and kindness is paramount for this to work. Because when good is embedded into who you are and what you do, many positive advantages appear. Two of the most powerful advantages are purpose and positivity. To have good embedded into your company, you must have purpose. In other words, there is a reason for why you do what you do. An example of a purpose that highlights this is from the Kellogg Food Company, whose purpose is to nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. Purpose helps you to identify and hire the right teammates and give them something to believe in. And you can help your business grow and evolve beyond what you could do by yourself. Studies show that a team with purpose is more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay at the company as they give them the sense of purpose. It's amazing for your culture and profitable from the standpoint of training, HR, client relationships, and consistent service. Positivity flows out of purpose. It includes seeing opportunities versus problems, expressing gratitude, creating a safe environment, being fair and forgiving, encouraging giving opportunities for learning, to name just a few. Purpose plus positivity creates a culture where you and your teammates love working together. And this environment will attract others who will want to work with and for you. Now I believe that if done authentically, most of your efforts will occur naturally and bear fruit, but everyday you'll be met with a moment or circumstance that challenge you to handle things the way you have envisioned. And although you will come up short at times, these are learning opportunities. The goal is to have those be few and the majority of your time spent in the light of where you want to be, and this only happens with alignment. Having good at the core of your leadership and your company is a commitment. It takes continued energy all around but the results are so worth it. You'll be able to create an organization you and your employees will want to get out of bed every day for. And this engagement will help your organization not only be enjoyable to work at, but more profitable, too.