Business In Focus
A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
This section of the newsletter is where we usually focus on one business that is getting leadership right. This month, we are departing from that pattern to spotlight a group of businesses that chose to do something extraordinary this year – they refused to open on Thanksgiving.
In recent years, Black Friday mania has crept further and further into the Thanksgiving holiday. Some stores open at midnight while others open as early as 5:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Although holiday sales make up the lion’s share of annual revenue for most U.S. retailers, dozens of large brands took a stand for something more important than profits this year. They stood together to reclaim the Thanksgiving holiday. Both employees and customers alike were encouraged to spend the day with family, rather than shoving through crowds for discounted goods.
Among these retail giants, REI went even further to reverse the shopping mania. Not only did the outdoor co-op close their doors on Thanksgiving, but all 143 of their stores remained closed on Black Friday. The company spread the word with its #OptOutside campaign stating, “While the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we hope to see you in the great outdoors.”
Putting purpose over profit was a risky move. But, by banding together, these companies took a stand for corporate citizenship, and put the humanity back into the Thanksgiving holiday.
Kudos to these big brand retailers.
To see the full list of the stores that remained closed on Thanksgiving, click here.
Business In Focus
A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
In May this year, Stephan Aarstol effectively doubled the per-hour earnings of every employee at his business, Tower Paddle Boards. Yet payroll didn’t budge. Aarsol did this by exploiting the insight that, for startups, time is a more malleable resource than money. So instead of giving his employees salary raises, he reduced the company workday to five hours.
Aarstol, you may recall, is the guy who froze during his 2012 pitch on ABC’s Shark Tank, but still walked off with $150,000 from Mark Cuban. Today, he and his team of nine operate the San Diego-based online paddle-board business.
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Business In Focus, Newsletter
A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
In May this year, Stephan Aarstol effectively doubled the per-hour earnings of every employee at his business, Tower Paddle Boards. Yet payroll didn’t budge. Aarsol did this by exploiting the insight that, for startups, time is a more malleable resource than money. So instead of giving his employees salary raises, he reduced the company workday to five hours.
Aarstol, you may recall, is the guy who froze during his 2012 pitch on ABC’s Shark Tank, but still walked off with $150,000 from Mark Cuban. Today, he and his team of nine operate the San Diego-based online paddle-board business.
(more…)
Business In Focus
A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
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Trust is a hot topic today. In our fast-paced business world, “speed is everything,” says Stephen M.R. Covey, “and nothing impacts speed more than trust.”
Consider this example about the legendary culture of trust at Southwest Airlines. In 1996, leadership expert Ken Blanchard had just published a book with former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula called Everyone’s A Coach. Ken was at the San Diego airport to check-in for a flight to the east coast. When he got to the Southwest ticket counter, he realized that he’d forgotten to bring his ID. He didn’t have time to get it and he didn’t want to miss his flight. So he got an idea.
(more…)
Business In Focus
A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
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HR is getting a lot of bad press these days. We thought we’d share one HR Department that gets an A+ in recruitment transparency. They’re at Cumming Corporation, an international construction management firm in San Diego.
Too often, candidates who apply for job openings are treated like commodities. They either get no feedback, or a boilerplate email. This approach leaves candidates feeling degraded and discouraged.
Cumming Corporation does 3 big things right:
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- Bottom line – Cumming calculates that “time-to-fill” costs the company approximately $120,000 for each week jobs stay open. Shortening speed of hire improves both dignity and efficiency.
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- Candidate experience – Recruiters are trained to “Treat candidates as you would like to be treated if you were applying. Communicate throughout the process. Tell them if they’re not qualified. Be direct and move on.”
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- Transparency – Cumming’s hiring process is posted on their website and they post a link to their Glassdoor page where candidates can hold them accountable.
As one applicant told us, “Even if I were to receive a rejection, I would feel respect for how they treated me as an individual.”
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Kudos Cumming HR! Read more at Culture & Hiring Transparency Drives Recruiting Efficiency.
This section of the newsletter is where we usually focus on one business that is getting leadership right. This month, we are departing from that pattern to spotlight a group of businesses that chose to do something extraordinary this year – they refused to open on Thanksgiving.
Among these retail giants, REI went even further to reverse the shopping mania. Not only did the outdoor co-op close their doors on Thanksgiving, but all 143 of their stores remained closed on Black Friday. The company spread the word with its #OptOutside campaign stating, “While the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we hope to see you in the great outdoors.”