Mavericks At Work

Take everything you thought you ever knew about business, and throw it out the window! OK, maybe stack it neatly in a pile off to the side. William Taylor and Polly Labarre have written a fantastic book which goes inside some of the biggest and well known corporations doing business today. These companies stand out not only because they do business very well, they are pioneers within their industry.

The rules of business have changed, once again. In this day of media-blitz’s, how do companies stand out among their competition? In Mavericks At Work, the authors share detailed stories about interviews with head CEOs, the mission that they are on, and how they will stop at nothing to get the word out. These CEOs not only have a mission statement, they live by their mission statement. Their employees know the mission statement like they know their street address. There is a synergy within these companies that seems to be rare in the corporate world today. The employees have a passion for the company they work for and they are motivated to help make that company the best in its class.

Again, it all comes back to business is people. The CEO’s have tapped into their employees and have empowered them to promote the company as if it were their own. This is the power of people. These are the types of companies the world needs. An excerpt from the book:

There is a direct connection between a company’s identity in the marketplace (how it relates to customers) and its performance in the workplace (how it relates to employees). Indeed, for all of its monumental success as a brand, Starbucks’ most important contribution to the marketing agenda may be its recognition that its workforce is what makes the brand come to life. It takes a highly engaged barista to brew and engaging cup of coffee.

What applies to Starbucks applies to family-friendly Cranium, service-centric Vermont Teddy Bear, even fashion-minded Anthropologie. The retailor goes out of its way to hire staffers who are “customer-appropriate,” says director of stores Wendy Brown, meaning that they share many of the attitudes, experiences, even educational backgrounds of the women who shop there. “The people work in our stores are well traveled, well read, and have outside interests. We get artists, literary people, even a few doctors. They can have a real conversation with our customers.”

That principle certainly applies to performance-oriented Commerce Bank, which has banked on its distinctive culture for more than 30 years. “The funny thing about culture,” says Commerce president Dennis DiFlorio, “is that you can’t acquire it, you can’t merge it, and you can’t convert it. Our culture is something our competition can never copy.”

If you are looking to stand out amongst your competition, be sure to read Mavericks At Work. The book is a great resource that will be relevant for years to come. It will teach you how to start thinking differently about your company, how you want your company to be perceived, and how to start the process.

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