Vinny ran an AI-based company with over 100 employees, across five different states. He came to me to ask to create a more stable turnover rate within his company. His sales department needed some help in brushing up on their skills and implementing more effective strategies. However, his biggest obstacle was his retention rate, with employees from all across the organization who were not sticking around much longer than 3-6 months.
So we looked into all the numbers and began to create a more desired outcome from the current problem he was facing. Vinny knew what his skills and abilities were as a software engineer who started one of the most prominent AI-based companies of his time. However, he didn't know how to bring his employees together and get them to produce what they were asked to and stick around to help keep his company morale high.
Knowing the type of personality Vinny had, I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It wasn't long after that that I realized just how much needed to be done. One department after another, I started to dissect the root of it all. I created an anonymous survey that went across the company, asking for everyone's feedback in hopes of creating a work environment that gave them back the value of their time. After receiving and analyzing the results from that, I sat down with teammates across each of these departments.
My main goal in these interactions was first to introduce myself and get to know them better, and their skill sets. Gauge how well they felt valued and whether or not they knew how much they contributed to the business. With the help of HR present, we even discussed their compensation and how that number would be competing with other opportunities in similar AI-based companies and how it'd compensate them fairly for their contribution. I gave them each a turn-around time to expect some changes to begin to occur. That way, they knew I was in it for their best interest and that if they'd just give me a period of time, I could get them some (if not all) of the solutions they were looking for.
I then took all the feedback and came up with a list of significant tasks that needed to be done. I went to Vinny with a very detailed plan on how I'd correct some of the disturbances in his company and how it would help fill in the gaps along the way. In other words, I presented him with both short-term and long-term tasks and goals to help add to his primary goal of stabilizing his employee base.
In no time, I constructed a funding account that incentivized all the employees across the board to take home a higher pay. This would give them a higher base to start with and an opportunity to earn even more(when they exceeded certain basic expectations for their roles). Even these basic expectations were heightened even further, creating healthy motivation for the team members.
I began a schedule with his sales team that trained them twice a week. This is where we went through the details of their entire sales process and came up with ways to simplify it for their prospects and their team members. Each sales person was given the assignment to meet their goals, with new positions to look forward to(as well as with other departments). This gave them all something to be motivated by and helped only add to Vinny's revenue expectations for the company.
Additionally, I took all of the non-pay-related feedback and came up with a list of core values that the company could begin to embody. It was a list of rules and expectations that ran across the board to every single team member, regardless of their position in the company. These helped create a more community and team-like work environment where all hands had to be on deck to help everyone take home the satisfaction of the work and help the company achieve its massive goals along the way. I even came up with a list of books that the entire company could read together to help create the morale Vinny wanted (which soon spiraled into a new hobby that brought a lot of employees together, too much of his surprise.
To help explain the idea of core value better to those that weren't too familiar, I shared more about how core values worked in organizations similar to theirs. But also how they could use the same foundation to help achieve more fulfillment in their personal lives, which in turn only added to their job satisfaction.
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Our core values are the instrumental set of rules we've empowered to help provide our higher selves' life direction aligns most with. These are the same core values and standards predicated on our belief system, which are just born from our own set of life experiences and those "we've allowed" to influence us. These are also the rules that we decide (based off our beliefs), are most fundamental to our growth and ability to live a just-like lifestyle. We can even take our list of core values and use them to help build and shape the person we want to become.
A simple formula to consider:
our beliefs create
our core values, which create
our character
Some core values to help you get started:
(per previous part in the book, feel free to use any of these in your own list or modify as you choose)
embrace authenticity; be the same person to everyone
be the most dependable person you know; keep all promises
continuously stretch yourself to the point of discomfort = growth
embrace a student-like mindset; you'll never know everything (won't need to)
stand by your morals/values, even if it makes you the outcast
adopt an abundant mindset (choose faith, not fear)
respect everyone unconditionally; yes even strangers
practice humility; you are no better/worse than anyone
your health IS wealth; start taking care of yourself now
normalize financial freedom as your birthright
walk in silence; you won't need to tell the world what you've done/doing (they'll eventually hear about it :)
To better understand the depth behind each of these core values, I'll explain them further to help give you some context behind each one. That way, you can see whether or not they'd be a good fit for your own life.
Embrace authenticity; be the same person to everyone:
Often, we come across people who may seem a certain way around some people but a completely different way around others. It leads us to wonder who they truly are and their intentions. The purpose behind this core value is to help those in a similar place seek stability in the person they are to everyone they encounter. That way, they come across more consistently to others. This will do wonders for anyone in both their personal and professional life, especially when it comes to building a brand and sticking to it.
Be the most dependable person you know; keep all promises:
This goes for anything you say to anyone you come in contact with. Whether your personal life or your professional, the more valuable and quality-driven your relationships will be, the more you can stand by your word and keep your promises. You'll start to have more respect for yourself, and that same vibration will attract the same level of respect from others to come in your direction. This core value itself goes very, very far in the world of business because, lets face it we're all in the people business.
Continuously stretch yourself to the point of discomfort = growth:
Theres the people who are afraid to go into the unknown, and then there is you, the high-performing individual who is ready to take themselves to a whole new level. This goal aims to help normalize the practice of continuously pushing yourself past your limits. Yes, I mean getting used to completing uncomfortable tasks to get yourself used to strive for growth at any level possible.
Embrace a student-like mindset; you'll never know everything (won't need to):
It's super important to accept that you most likely have a great set of skills in one industry or another. However, its not likely that you will ever know everything about everything, nor would you ever need to. So the goal here is to embrace the not knowing part of what you do and/or what you find most interest in. That way, the more you acknowledge that you are a student(despite how successful you find yourself to be), the more you will find yourself growing and learning more.
Stand by your morals/values, even if it makes you the outcast:
Chances are, the values and beliefs you have strongly portray the person you are. Its important that when you're coming up with this list, it consists of what you truly believe in. The more value it holds in your life, the more it will show up as value-packed beliefs to others you share them with; which will only help lead to higher levels of inspiration and respect from others.
Adopt an abundant mindset (choose faith, not fear):
It goes without saying, the quality of your thoughts has a lot to do with the quality of your life. Adopting an abundant mindset will help you elevate to a whole other level in your business and personal life, but it'll put you in a position to lead others to do the same constantly.
Respect everyone unconditionally; yes even strangers:
We've all heard this rule of thumb, "treat others the way you want to be treated." So what would it mean on a daily basis? Well its very simple, just begin treating everyone with respect. You don't have to be best friends with them or have known them for much longer to understand that we are all more similar than different, and with that, respect should be the standard in all our encounters.
Practice humility; you are no better/worse than anyone:
I love this one. When some people reach a certain level of "success," they fall into social traps that give them a new sense of entitlement in which they'd never had before. But you see, it doesn't have to be that way because success doesn't have to correlate to anything negative. Think about it, we all have worked so hard to be where we are today. Why cant we just all be and act normal? Instead of acting any better or worse than anyone, detach yourself from the ego and embrace the human side of you as the true being that you are(no other titles needed here).
Walk in silence; you won't need to tell the world what you've done/doing (they'll eventually hear about it ;)
In other words, do more and speak less. Now of course, you'll have to share some of your news and decisions with others in which you respect their opinions and value their feedback. But other than those select few people, the rest of the world really doesn't need to hear it from you(unless you're promoting a product/service for sale, that's different). The world will know about your successes when its time to. Choose authenticity and maintain your character. The rest will follow.
Remember, who you are at your core will help you better understand yourself, allowing others to do the same. When you better understand yourself, you’ll only attract high quality relationships in both your business and personal life.
After having gone through all the changes above and instilling a series of new ideas, thoughts, and actionable steps for everyone to work on, Vinny began to see tremendous improvements in his team. His retention rate nearly doubled within a 12-month span. His employees reported higher satisfaction rates. They generated much higher revenue sales than he'd ever expected. His company soon became the conscious and healthy environment and machine that many prospective employees wanted to be a part of.
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Until next time my friends, keep your head up and know that whatever “obstacle” comes your way throughout your business journey, it’s a blessing in disguise.
XO
-Bauer
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