A good friend from college recently responded to a Craig’s List posting for a Caretaker of a ranch outside of town. According to what he saw in the advertisement, it would be the perfect position. He is a true outdoors-man having spent over 20 years in the rugged mountains of Colorado. Watching over a large ranch is a perfect job for him.
On Saturday, he arose before dawn to ride out to meet the owner and check out the ranch. It was nice enough with plenty of land and large views of the countryside. There was a herd of Alpaca on the ranch. That was part of the deal. Take care of the flock and the property. But here’s the rub. When they were discussing payment, the owner talked about rent. Not a salary for being a caretaker. Not rent in exchange for watching over the property. No, she was talking rent for the "privilege" of watching over her animals and land.
My friend was of course taken aback. His choice words to the owner began with the letter “F” and then “you” and ended with the classic refrain “…and the Alpaca you came in on.”
This situation illustrates the modern phenomenon of people wanting their cake and to eat it too. Rather than find a way to create win/win/win agreements, they attempt to create win/lose agreements. They push the boundaries of common sense and common decency. It is yet another example of unconscious people trying to do business.
This is why we love conscious businesses (Trader Joe’s, Southwest Airlines, and COSTCO in the U.S.). They play by a different set of rules. They bend over backwards to make the customer happy, the employees happy, and the investor happy, all at the same time. Not a bad way to roll.
Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. ~ Hippocrates
The great John Mackey and his company Whole Foods Market (WFM) essentially created the health food movement as we know it today. We take for granted that there are healthy (or at least healthier) choices when it comes to food. WFM is within driving distance of almost every major town or city within the United States. They are truly delivering on their Higher Purpose. But there is one thing conspicuously absent in WFM that every other grocery store has. What is that? A pharmacy. There Are No Pharmacies in Whole Foods Market. Anywhere. Ever. It is almost as if they actually listened to Hippocrates' famous quote about letting food be your medicine and your medicine your food. Could it be that Hippocrates was right after all? Could great healthy organic leafy green food really become your medicine? Could an ounce of prevention really be worth a pound of cure? Well, we leave that for you to discover. The fact that pharmaceuticals are not part of the success equation at WFM speaks volumes. We’ve written about Whole Foods Before and how they are Antifragile (see the post here). Despite recent criticism of WFM in some corners, we continue to recognize them as leaders without which the other stores who now carry organic foods would no longer be able to do so. Rock on WFM!
This week, we are going to focus on your Core Values. And before you dismiss Core Values out of hand, stay with this until the end. Most people in our experience, think they know what their core values are, but they do not know what their actual core values are. That’s a big difference. This week we will focus on finding out what they really are. Assignment Your assignment for this week is to discover your Core Values. Meet with your study partner or Triad and do the Five Why exercise with each person. At a minimum, allow each person to answer these questions:
What is one of the best days you’ve ever had at work?
What is one of the worse days you’ve ever had at work?
What is something you’ve accomplished in the past six months that made you feel alive?
Now is the time to take 100% responsibility. Make a realistic commitment to clean-up your mess (and follow-through). You are, after all, the one “in charge.” One way or another, you are responsible for what is going on.
Life itself is difficult. Living life with integrity is one of the greatest challenges we face because it requires some really tough choices. It requires you to decide how you will define success.
As a young boy (age 5) we lived in a boarding house run by two old Italian men named John and Tony. These were truly old school Italians who made their own wine, cooked their own sauce and had a huge garden out back.
The news continues to be filled with stories of companies who are still operating under the old model of business, who have cultures where it is acceptable to play loose with the truth. Just this week, we find out JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, RBS, Citigroup, and UBS have been manipulating foreign exchange rates for years (they will pay $5 billion in fines). PayPal has been using deceptive practices to lure customers into an online credit service (they will pay $25 million in fines). We could go on.
In today’s post, we interview our friend and Tribe Member Carla Perez. Carla is a conscious leader who, more than anyone, got us to understand our WHY and helped us clarify our own business processes we use to help our clients. Carla is a beautiful person who possesses an amazing depth of understanding of the interconnectedness of all people. Carla is the President of OneAll Solutions, LLC and Chief Conspiracy Officer at todosUNO Honduras. She is a management consultant and an executive and life coach.
Some purists may argue that it is beyond the scope of government but the USDA Organic program rocks. If you see the USDA Organic label on a product, you know straight up that there are no artificial ingredients, additives, colorings, toxins, stabilizers, or glow in the dark substances. That’s huge. And even better, you know there are no Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in there either.
What is a CPO? It stands for Chief People Officer. Whereas many companies have relegated the HR function to the backwaters of corporate life (doing keyword searches on resumes), more conscious businesses have created the CPO, a member of the C-Suite. These leaders always put people first. They recognize just how critical it is to have employees who resonate with the actual values and purpose of the company. An example of a CPO is the co-founder of JetBlue Ann Rhoades. Her book, Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competitiondiscusses what is possible in this “radical” approach to the people side of the business. How are people treated in your organization? Is the HR function being outsourced or are you creating a CPO role?
discusses what is possible in this “radical” approach to the people side of the business.