Appriss - One Example of a “Champion Organization”

There has been a lot of chatter in the media, the blogosphere and the micro-blogosphere (Twitter & Facebook) about the outstanding corporate culture and customer service of online shoe retailer Zappos.com

The hype over Zappos.com is well-deserved as it offers an outstanding model to follow. I’d like offer another company I’ve been referred to through a contact I made on Twitter that seems to also have the right approach to company culture.

Thanks to a link provided me on Twitter from one of my followers I was pleased to watch the corporate recruiting video for Appriss, a specialized software company in the midwest.

I encourage you to spend a couple of minutes (5-minutes to be exact) watching their Great Place to Work Video on their “About Us” page. It’s worth the time as it shows what’s possible.

They tell their story very well but I’m sure their employees can tell the story even better. According to my Twitter follower Appriss “management that treats employees with trust & respect…they tell us the truth & keep us in the loop on important decisions.”

I’m sure there are other Appriss team members that also have things to say about their Champion work environment. I encourage them to leave comments below and encourage comments from a  from their satisfied customers about the products and services.

One of the key’s to a Champion Organization as I wrote in a previous post is having a compelling Vision, Strategy & Purpose. From what I’ve read and heard, the Appriss mission and how the company came into being is certainly compelling and the company is filling a tremendous role in our society in the field of criminal justice and crime victim advocacy.

If you are an employee or customer of Appriss, feel free to leave a comment offering other company’s your view of the #1 thing that makes Appriss a Champion Organization that other business owners and CEOs can learn from.

Appriss, keep up the good work!

Championship Lessons From the Two Newest Champs

Two things that make an organization a true Champion is consistency and resiliency. Those traits exemplify the two most recent Champions crowned in North America’s winter long professional sports leagues, the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers and the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penquins.

Consistency is the Lakers’ trait, for sure. The franchise has won 15 NBA Championships in its history and nine in the last 29 years, since 1980, winning five in the 80’s and four since 2000. Their coach, Phil Jackson, now has 10 NBA Championships on his coaching resume after winning six with the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls in the 90’s before moving to Los Angeles to start a new dynasty with the Lakers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins on the other hand have been the resilient franchise. After winning two Stanley Cup Championships in the early 90’s with Hall of Fame Center Mario Lemieux leading the way, the team struggled in the early part of this decade rebuilding its player personnel and fighting to financially stay alive.

Lemieux saved the franchise for the city of Pittsburgh by putting together and ownership group and becoming its managing partner. He has since negotiated with the city for a new arena to replace the antiquated Civic Arena. Lemieux’s hockey personnel have rebuilt the team by taking advantage of top draft picks and adeptly identifying role players that make the sum greater than their individual parts.

Which is a great lesson for all of us looking to build Champion Organizations, when you focus on team members strengths and put them in positions to leverage their what they do best, a team without a lot of superstar performers can achieve great things (in the case of the Penguins the mixed three superstar performers Centers Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Makin and goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery with a superb supporting cast).

The Lakers took the much the same approach by leaning on superstar Kobe Bryant but looking to teammates to step up and lead the way when called upon.

Now, there’s a recipe for Championship success. Where are the opportunities in your organization to do similar work?

Who Cares If Your Company Is a "Champion Organization?"

Eight weeks into working with one of my clients to help lay the foundation of a Champion Organization at his company he asked me a very provocative and interesting question as I was leaving a recent leadership team session.

He said, “Skip, does anyone really care if we have a champion organization here. You know, our employees, our vendors or customers, is this really worth the effort beyond lowering my own stress level?”

There is only one answer to that question.

The question kind of put me on the spot, what am I supposed to say to that, “no, all the time, money and energy you’ve invested doesn’t really matter at the end of the day.” The only ethical answer I could give “yes.”

But, I can see why he asked the question. When you are in the beginning stages of transforming a negative workplace culture to a Champion culture there are growing pains/ At times when some people respond and others don’t. Everyone is different and gaining buy-in has to be done on an individualized basis. It can see like a daunting task as we move through the process. 

I explained that there are a number of stages that will take time to sink in that have to worked through for various constituencies. Each will have to have a reason to get excited about the initiative, we have to continue to reach deep and tap into the WII-FM (What’s In It For Me) for each individual on the team. It will be more important for some than for others. For the ones that don’t jump on board some time in the not too distant future there will be the equivalent of a major league sports’s trading deadline. 

There is a very low threshold for what is expected in the industry in which this company operates. Over the years the entire industry has developed an approach and a culture in which confrontation and conflict is the norm and expectation. It’s going to take time to change the impression that this company is just like the rest but eventually and not too far into the future, the customers and clients will begin to notice.

Here’s what will make it happen quicker:
1) Company leadership team must be the exemplars of the attitudes, behaviors and communication style we’ve decided are consistent with the image the company wants to put forth;

2) The expectation must be set with all employees and team members that moving forward the new Values/Behaviors are the new culture;

3) Any deviation from the expected behavior from among leadership team members or other employees must be addressed and adjusted immediately (all team members will be held accountable to the same expectations and in the same manner);

4) Training and coaching of individuals to bring their interpersonal skills up to the expected standard may have to be provided.

5) Client, customer, sub-contractors and referral sources should be communicated with at the beginning of each project to set the tone and expectations on the new terms with the new approach, so that they know what to expect regarding the interactions with the company moving forward.  Setting the expectation on the front end and then fulfilling them will go a long way towards building the new belief as to what’s possible in this industry.

By following the five steps outlined above, my client will be setting a new tone and become a leader in its industry for changing the entire culture of that industry, one client and one employee at a time.

I’m working on a very exciting project.

Southwest Airlines' Champion Culture Fosters Creativity & Fun

This YouTube video below says it all. 

For years Southwest Airlines has been touted as an airlines with a different experience for its employees first, which fosters a unique experience for its customers. Here’s one outstanding example:

Zappos.com, The Model of a Champion Organization

My wife has been buying shoes from Zappos.com for a few years but I’ve only been reading about Zappos.com corporate culture and customer service philosophy for about six months.

You can’t swing a cat without coming across some article about Zappos.com’s CEO Tony Hsieh and his philosophy.

I just read another  this week that adds another dimension, “happiness.” Here’s the link to the Business Week article  “Delivering Happiness the Zappos Way.” 

If you’re interested in creating a Champion Organization, it is well worth the few minutes to read.

Let's Model Companies With Outstanding Company Cultures

Having Visions of a Champion Organization

As Major League Baseball gets set t launch the 2009 regular season on Sunday night, April 5th, it reminds me of the excitement I felt as a youth this time of year because of  the possibilities that were ahead of my favorite team the New York Mets. As with all teams heading out of Spring Training, they were in first place on Opening Day and had visions of getting to the World Series.

Every team as it leaves Spring Training has visions of getting to the World Series. Having the vision is important and is the first step in creating a “Champion Organization,” but it isn’t everything. As we’ve seen many times, regardless of what  a team’s roster looks like on paper, they still have to play the games.

Just having a vision isn’t enough. It also takes an effective strategy along with consistent, effective implementation of the strategy and flexibility to make adjustments to the strategy when necessary.

Hmm, success in the business world is very similar to success in professional sports, isn’t it? It’s also easier. In business, companies don’t have to necessarily compete with anyone other than themselves. From my experience that’s sometimes easier said than done as some companies can’t get out of their own way and keep spinning their wheels.