It is vital to find the subject of your passion. Start by eliminating what you don't like doing.
It is very important to find what you are truly passionate about. Awareness of your passion simplifies the adoption of all decisions and allows you to determine the ultimate goal.
Doing what you like is much more important than making a ton of money from a hated job. Decide if you are ready to “stop chasing money and start doing what you like.”
Try many different activities and find the subject of your passion. These experiments will also show you what you do not want to do. The more points you exclude from your list, the more you learn about yourself and the easier it will be for you to find your hobby. Do not chase false dreams.
Fast growth can kill company culture if you hire the wrong people
Your company is growing fast: sales are rising, investments are flowing, and new employees appear almost every week. Beware of such hyper growth. Consider it a warning. Growing too fast can lead to hiring the wrong people. They can harm the corporate culture of your company.
Even if you need to increase the number of employees, take the time to carefully examine each candidate. Make sure he shares your vision and wants to become part of the culture of the company you created. One fine day, you will find that you no longer enjoy working in your company or with its team if you hire people who are focused solely on career growth and personal gain.
Example. This situation has occurred with LinkExchange. Having become hostage to the rush and enthusiasm of his own success, Tony Shay hired employees who were not passionate about the company's mission, but were looking for high salaries. This led to disastrous consequences for the company.
It’s better to expand the company slowly - the hiring process needs to be carefully monitored. Small sacrifices to protect company culture are beneficial in the long run.
Continuing education is a priority for you and your employees.
Engage in company growth and employee training. It is necessary to encourage them to constantly learn. Create a culture that promotes professional and personal development.
Example. Organize an office library and courses to develop new skills.
The whole team should feel that their work is part of a higher goal. The waste of time on learning and personal growth is not only allowed, but also encouraged. All employees must constantly face new challenges and opportunities for growth. So they will not feel as if they have reached an impasse. As they grow, they can take on more tasks and responsibilities, benefiting your business.
Example. Zappos employees grow and develop, they are pushed to solve new problems. This experience helps them cope with the problems that arise in the company. An employee of Zappos, inspired by the freedom to propose new ideas and work on more complex projects, became self-confident and changed the work of the telephone operator to a leadership position. This growth has spread to her personal life, prompting her to read more, lead a healthy lifestyle and travel the world. Now she spends her vacation exploring the volcanoes in Central America.
Create a vision of a higher goal, the end result of which will be happiness
A lofty goal is a goal that goes beyond simple profit-making and company growth.
Example. Technically, Zappos is a shoe business, but in fact it does not sell shoes at all.The lofty goal is to make people happy by providing excellent customer service, stunning them and exceeding expectations. Improving the quality of delivery or a free return policy - Zappos thinks about long-term goals, and not just about its income.
Constantly ask yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Everything you do should be pursuing a higher goal. Having such a goal and daily pursuit of it will make you happier.
You must believe in the culture of your company - your success is closely linked to it.
Your corporate culture is one of the most important characteristics of the company. This is your brand, and employees are its representatives. You cannot base hiring decisions solely on the candidate’s skills and experience. You must hire people who fit into the culture of the company. People with whom you would be happy to chat after work.
A sense of connection, as in a large family, makes people happy and encourages the team to work better and relate to each other. Such a team should have a common goal and a common passion. Hire only those people who live and breathe your basic values that determine all the decisions and activities of the company.
When you bring people together for a common purpose, the core values of your company will be born naturally. A company’s culture is even more important than customer service. If the culture is right, excellent customer service develops by itself.
The main ingredient in educating a company’s great culture is the time spent together. When the entire Zappos team moved to Las Vegas, they got closer because they had to rely on each other. Your team does not have to move to a new city. This experience helped Zappos employees think about what is collectively important to them. Thanks to this experience, their core values have been formed.
Focus on where your company can become great
Just doing your job well is not enough. Identify one area in which your company wants to be the best in the world. Specialize and focus on it, become great at it.
Example. At Zappos, customer service was the only thing they wanted to be great at. They wanted their company to be so unusual that it would delight all customers and bring joy to people.
The company's culture and the service it provides are closely linked. Great service, and as a result, happy customers, perhaps if you treat your employees well.
Happy workers are passionate about their work. They will surely make the customer happy by providing him with excellent service. Never outsource what your company can become the best in the world. It is impossible to provide performance of the chosen activity to only one department. Responsibility for it should cover the entire company.
Example. Zappos have demonstrated their commitment to outstanding customer service by moving their headquarters to Las Vegas. It was supposed to accommodate the site for the call center support services. The company showed that customer support is a matter of paramount importance for the entire team, including senior management.
Don't get hung up on creating hype around your brand. Build trust and loyalty with good people
Trying to create hype around the brand is unproductive. Do not try to specifically attract the attention of the media. Focus on what you do best: providing excellent service and an excellent customer experience. The rest will follow, and the hype will arise by itself.
Create positive associations with your brand in the minds of consumers. Each interaction with a client is an opportunity to develop your brand using word of mouth.Provide excellent service and let regular customers do the marketing for you.
Example. Zappos has earned loyal fans for its excellent customer support, especially with telephone service. They invest in improving the experience of their customers, rather than in traditional advertising. They provide privileges such as free delivery of each order, year-round return of goods, unexpected next day delivery, and first-class telephone assistance. The hype is naturally created around the brand, and the company is gaining media attention.
When you do something that naturally generates interest, people will talk about it, and then the media will talk about it.
The most important thing
How to build a great company that makes its employees and customers happy?
- Finding your passion is vital — start by eliminating what you don't like doing.
- Slow down - rapid growth can kill a company’s culture if you hire the wrong people.
- Make continuing education a priority for you and your employees.
- Create a vision of a higher goal, the end result of which will be happiness.
How to create the right company culture and brand that customers love?
- You must believe in the culture of your company - your success is closely linked to it.
- Focus on where your company can become great.
- Do not get hung up on creating hype around your brand, but build trust and loyalty through a good relationship with people.