Want to build something great for the world? First, you have to build something great inside your company.
This is the argument Fast Company co-founder Bill Taylor makes.
He believes that companies that do great things operate from within a great company culture, and that culture is always built on unique rules.
For instance, there’s Amazon, which, despite being one of the largest revenue generators in the world, is notoriously thrifty — to the point that for years, founder Jeff Bezos insisted all employee desks be made out of cheap Home Depot doors nailed to legs. This reminded everyone that “We look for every opportunity to save money so we can deliver the best products for the lowest cost.”
Then there’s Quicken, the financial company whose culture includes the caveat that every single phone call or email from a customer must be returned on the very same day. Why? Because one of the key competitive principles at Quicken is a sense of urgency, and this rule brings it to life.
A lot of organizations strive to carve out a unique and attractive culture that will attract the best candidates. The first question they have to ask themselves is: “What are we doing differently from the inside out?”
And when they can answer that, they’re doing something right.
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