b"STRAIGHT FROM THE EXPERTSBet on Talent, Bank on Cultureby Brad Williams - permission received to reprintI dranktheCultureKool-aidalongtimeago!completelyhonest.Thatswheretheinvestment Problem was I never bought the Kool-aid. No notcomes in. bought as in buy-in to it, I always loved the topic. I mean I never had to buy it. To really invest andLast January we partnered through CSS with their spend actual resources. I just thought if we occa- Up Your Culture Program to identify, assess, and sionally talked about it and cheered each other onadapt our culture. Through an independent nation-in a positive way everything would just work out foral survey firm, we conducted confidential employ-the better. It doesnt. ee surveys. Our results were good, really good. But as author Jim Collins writes, Good is the enemy of It is an investment that takes time, money, leader- great. ship,staffinvolvementandmostimportantlyac-countability.The process has been a long, eye-opening journey in which we developed our Reason for Being, fi-For 20 years we have been partners with The Cen- nalized our Core Values, and articulated our Vision ter for Sales Strategy. They taught us the invaluableStatement. benefit of focusing on hiring and training talent and it has paid off big time. Problem is you never knowOur Reason for Being:when youre going to have an economic downturn, an internal tragedy, or a key person leave. ChangeWe move people! We move our consumers to happens, talent helps get you through it but it is indance,tolaughandtocry.Wemovepeopleto those moments you better have a strong Culture al- ringcashregistersforourclients.Wemoveour ready in place to tie it all together. You will need aco-workers to learn and grow.North Star to show you the way; otherwise, you may not even know you're lost. That North Star is culture. Our Core Values: TheMcKinsey7-SFrameworkdevelopedbyau-thorsTomPetersandRobertWatermangivesaIntegrity, Passion, and Innovation. We only want to great illustration to the elements in any organiza- work with honest, caring, ethical people. We want tion. Strategy, Structure, Systems, Style, Staff, andtoworkwithpeoplewhoarepassionateabout Skills. But its the seventh S, which is in the middlegrowth and development. People who are passion-by no accident, that makes it all work: Shared Val- ate about helping others. We want to be innovative ues. To me thats Culture. Yet organizations spendin technology, in problem solving and the future of all their resources and measurement on the otherour business.sixSs.Thereasonisbecauseeveryonebelieves they already have a good culture. The trick is howOur Vision Statement: do you know?Win the Day, Win 2020! That sounds vague but I love the meme Be the person your dog thinks youliterallyaskingwhataretheactivitieseachofus are. The issue is you cant just ask your dog whoneedstocompletedailythatequalswinningthe you really are and YOU cant just ask your co-work- day? If everyone knows their own and does what it ers either. You at least cant guarantee they will betakes to win the day, we will win in 2020."