Corporate Character

Character is the essential component of attracting and retaining both employees and customers.

At the core of leadership is the essential ingredient of character. Webster defines it as “the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.” Leaders act in accordance with the promises they have made. Some would say that character includes a high moral standard, but I will argue that doing what you say you are going to do is the essence of character. Even a despot can exhibit character if his word is his bond. When he ceases to keep promises—my wife told me it was safe to use the masculine pronoun when describing a despot—he will find that allies, customers, employees, subjects, and supporters become scarce.

Corporate character is the combination of traits that make up the personality of an organization. When both the written and unwritten rules of engagement are congruent, the company will keep its promises to the marketplace (customers) and to itself (employees). Individual character development is difficult, and corporate character development is a constant effort. Failing is as easy as interrupting an improvement project for seasonal business fluctuation and forgetting to follow through when time allows. It is easy to develop a negative reputation with employees when we jump through hoops for customers and are slow to meet the needs of employees—even when doing so would make it easier to meet customer demand.

People want to work in a predictable and ever-improving environment. Customers are drawn to structured and adaptive suppliers. So, as we are getting back to basics in this issue, making and keeping promises must be a constant in company culture if we are to thrive.

Leading Improvement

How can we lead improvement in our corporate character? First, it must be acknowledged that no individual or company is faultless in this effort; we all fall down. As Alfred said to Batman, “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” I believe that recovering from a fall, and learning to fall less often, is the developmental process toward corporate character.

As an example of this challenging development, we’ll look at the common problem of follow-through. Consistency in the building and maintenance of a visual workplace with use of 5S or 7S is a very common point of frustration. Employees voice this when they call such programs the flavor of the month. Management voices it when the disciplines have broken down and a major effort must be made to prepare for a customer visit. We understand the value added when the work environment is organized for success with nonverbal signals that make it easy to do the right thing in a safe and cooperative effort. However, distraction often leads to disagreement about responsibilities for cleaning and maintenance of the work center. Even if employees are inclined to do the work, they may not be allotted the time to complete these responsibilities. So, what was intended to positively change the culture instead raises the level of resistance and cynicism. Let’s follow through with this example and discuss how one company recovered and then thrived.

Case in Point

All of the above was true of our case study company. They had completed three S activities (Sort, Set in Order, and Shine) but had become distracted before gaining the two agreements on how they would Standardize and Sustain their progress. As a consequence, they had improved neither morale (Spirit) nor the company’s Safety record. But, they recovered well by dedicating staff and time for training and implementation. They allowed the people closest to the work in both administrative and manufacturing areas to build agreement on how to organize and maintain order and cleanliness. They placed materials and tools they used regularly in close proximity.

More importantly, they took the time to codify those agreements so that best practices would survive the changes in mood, crew members, or supervision. They built in measurement of productivity, quality, and safety; then they asked management to audit the best practices so the habits would last. They recognized team members for doing all this, and the net effect is depicted in the following occurrence.

The company was a 10 percent supplier to one of the largest wineries in the world. One of the wine producer’s owners toured the plant on short notice, but no one panicked because the habits of 7S were well-ingrained, and the plant was tour-ready at all times. When the salesperson guiding the tour stopped at a converting machine, the proud machine operator stepped forward and began answering the guest’s questions. He explained how they kept the process under control, and showed the nearby postings of quality, safety, and productivity measurement. The guest was so intrigued that he asked what improvement project the operator was currently working on. The salesperson was alarmed to see the operator and his guest disappear behind the machine to open a cabinet where he had been organizing and labeling cables for ease of cleaning and quick repair should there be a problem. In very short order, the guest told the salesman that he would be moving a significant portion of their high graphics work into the company: “Don’t worry, you’ll get the commission; but that operator made the sale. I want that guy making my boxes.”

Corporate character is all about keeping promises, falling, recovering well, and following through. As with this and many other examples, the benefits are tangible and measurable. This plant still reports that more than 90 percent of those who tour the facility will become customers. A variety of factors may attract a customer or a talented employee, but character is key to making the relationship thrive.

Scott Ellis, Ed.D., is a partner in P-Squared (P 2). He can be reached at 425-985-8508 or scottellis@psquaredusa.c0m.