Culture, Markets, and Personal Growth
Love is a Temple.
—From “One” U2
As part of their cultural enrichment initiative, the record company adopted a number of new rituals. The resulting employee satisfaction, expressed in follow-up surveys, convinced Jason that these rituals were critical to the overall health of the organization. Some were silly and some were profound. They helped the employees become stronger supporters of one another and, in many cases, close friends.
Leading the Market Again
The company had become a market leader in the genre of smooth jazz. Their artists were all charting, and they even had an artist as a regular radio commentator on the smooth jazz station. The Jazz Concert Series had become a huge hit in southern California. It was the place to go, with people buying season tickets well in advance. The exposure the company got was incredible, which added to the exposure of their artists. They even had one jazz artist invited to participate as an informal ambassador for the United States on a recent Department of Commerce junket to Beijing. The Chinese were really becoming avid smooth jazz fans. There is no language barrier when it comes to jazz. Their representation in the Pop and Hip-Hop circles was also still strong. They had artists charting, they were sponsoring concerts, and even promoting soft drinks as part of a licensing deal they had with a large beverage company. Their market share in all genres was up, and they had strengthened their distribution networks in developing countries because of some licensing and downloading deals negotiated with strategic partners in these markets.
Jason was personally traveling a lot more. Before he could expect everyone to step up, he needed to step up first. It was important for the rest of the organization to see that he was leading from the front. That didn’t mean that he was throwing his weight around, but he tried to lead by example. He figured they respected that. Jason was not afraid to jump in and get his hands dirty, but he didn’t want to usurp roles and infringe upon anyone’s creativity.
When the Executive Team started dressing down, everyone was a bit suspicious. Anyone above a supervisor usually dressed up for work. The rest of the organization wore jeans, so the uniform tended to get in the way by dividing the leadership from the rank and file. Jason didn’t like that. He really enjoyed going back to his old tee shirts and jeans. He usually wore polo shirts so as not to seem too casual but he could throw on a sports jacket in the event that he had a meeting with some folks who were a bit more formal. You just never knew in this business. He had many good friends who wore jeans and casual shirts that were priced into the thousands of dollars for just one outfit. Jason had never fallen into that trap. He wore off-the-shelf Levi’s and Costco Polo’s. He wasn’t out to try to impress anyone at his age, only to support the new metaphor.
Personal Transformation
Before the company started the transformation, Jason had been a bit overweight, enough to resist tucking his shirts in. Other than an occasional stroll on the beach, he didn’t get much exercise. When the organization got fat and lazy, he got fat and lazy. However, he didn’t know which came first. When the organization became reenergized, Jason did as well. He had more energy now than when he was a young man in his early thirties.
Everyday brought with it an excitement that Jason had not experienced in a long time. He woke up looking forward to work and all that life had to throw at him that day. He anticipated how he would respond in various situations, and he was prepared. He still loved his Porsches, but now he was spending less time with them. Jason missed seeing some of his friends at the Porsche Club of America (PCA) breakfast meetings, but he was simply having so much fun at work that he didn’t need the distraction.
His marriage was even transformed by the metaphor. He found that refocusing on the vision and mission of the business also caused him to do the same in his marriage. He became keenly aware of how his actions affected his wife and grown kids. He didn’t bring a sour attitude home from the office. He was upbeat, full of energy, and thought of creative ways to love them. Jason and his wife spent more time together, and I don’t mean just spending time together. They spent real, genuinely intimate time in each other’s presence. He expressed an appreciation for her that he was not capable of doing in the past. She responded in the same way, and they found that their love had become so much stronger than before.
The Buzz
Apparently it had gotten around that Jason’s label was the place to work. Their application pool had grown to the degree that they always had many more qualified applicants for a position than they needed and before they publicized it. The fact was though, that they seldom had to fill a position. They had implemented some great benefits in the way of a noncontributory retirement fund, daycare, increased personal and maternity leave for both genders, on-campus valet parking, flex time scheduling, and regular free financial counseling for every employee.
The company was getting applications from as far away as China, South Africa, and Australia. They had developed a strategic partnership with several universities in the area and were accepting interns on a regular basis. Unfortunately, because they had very few openings, they were unable to hire most after they graduated. They did, however, send them out to their competition with great letters of recommendation. They became the place to intern because of the excellent reputation they had developed in the industry. Everyone wanted to hire one of their young protégés.
Because they began spending more time on the streets identifying new talent, they had the pick of the litter, so to speak. They were at every showcase, not just in Los Angeles but also in Nashville, New York, and London. They had set up offices there specifically for this purpose. Their agents were like scouts for pro-football teams. They were continuously following up on leads and tracking down promising artists and writers. If you saw one of their agents at a club or showcase, you were certain that someone there was being seriously considered for signing.
The representatives of the artists and writers loved working with the company and treated the relationship like a strategic alliance. They worked together to develop the artists, bring the right songs to the mix, and put together strong stage performances and career plans.
The spin-off artist mentoring company really took off as well. There was a waiting list to get into the program. Not only did the artists benefit, but the mentors were having the time of their lives. Some had even become close friends with their artists. One mentor passed away and left his estate, in excess of $42 million, to fund a retirement plan for all of their developing artists. It was simply amazing.
The company caught some flack early on from several competitors who couldn’t understand why the organization was paring back in size. What the competition didn’t understand at the time was that the company’s focus had become laser sharp, and although they were paring back, they were gradually gaining market share. They quit trying to be everything to everybody. They did what they felt they could do best while treating their artists fairly and honorably. Some said they had lost their edge, but very quickly the naysayers discovered that was not the case. Jason’s team became more competitive when it came to negotiations. They made concessions where they might not have in earlier years, but their concessions were not at the expense of reasonable profit.
Giving Back
As they were blessed financially, they gave more to charities around Los Angeles. They became big supporters of the Union Gospel Mission, and every Thanksgiving, their entire crew turned out to feed the homeless. They discovered that when they were serving others, they were finding a satisfaction and joy that they had never known. Their artists also began to catch on and offer to do concerts to raise money for this or that charity or good cause.
The company received a call from a well-known actor who had Parkinson’s disease. Five of their top artists volunteered to perform at a fundraiser to find the cure. At a recent Grammy Awards, along with their artists sweeping the categories, their label was honored for their charitable giving. While they didn’t do it for the acclaim, it was nice to see others begin to follow suit because of their willingness to bring up the needs of the poor and homeless to the rest of the music industry. Over the course of the last three years, they had been able to help raise in excess of $150 million, which was extremely rewarding.
Finally, company personnel had been transformed individually. They felt better about the work they were doing and who they were becoming individually and corporately. Jason tried to explain the concept of the power of the metaphor to a couple of old colleagues who didn’t really get it. He told them if they wanted to know more they would have to wait for the book to come out. Here it is . . .
Questions to Consider
1.What are some areas in your personal life that you would like to change for the better?
2.What could you do to begin transforming these areas of your life? Manage your time better? Prioritize your personal relationships and activities? Schedule time for transforming activities?
3.How might the new metaphor help you in this transformation?
4.What are some ways that you and your organization give back to your local community?