Be consistent. You can’t walk
and talk a different path. You
have to walk your talk day in
and day out. I’ve had a bout
with diverticulitis, and I’ve come
in to work actually hurting, but
when I walk in that front door
and see people, I walk in like it’s
a great day and have a smile on
my face. I talk to everybody I
see. I don’t walk by anybody.
I didn’t let them know that I
was really sore and really hurting because I just wanted them
to know that it’s a great day to
be here and a great day to do a
good job for the company.
If you come in the front door
with a sneer on your face or a
grumpy attitude, it won’t take
long for half the staff to know
about it, and it’ll translate into
how they think and act the rest
of the day.
Have a good mission statement. We had a big formal mission
statement that the board had
approved, and it was one of
these lengthy things. People
wouldn’t remember it or try to
abide by it, so we decided a
few years ago to make it just
five words: Always do the
right thing.
The right thing is what’s the
right thing in your heart. You
know what’s right and what’s
wrong. That’s inborn in you as
you grow up. It just simplifies
everything.
Why have a 20-word mission
statement that most people
can’t memorize, let alone tell
you what it means, when if you
do the right thing, that’s what
matters?
It goes back to Matthew 7:12
— the Golden Rule — what you
should have men do to you, do
to them. That’s what it boils
down to.
Practically apply your mission. I
have my real Bible on my desk,
and I have my ‘business bible’
on my desk — “Bravely, Bravely
in Business.”
It’s full of a multitude of good
information of how you should
conduct yourself in business.
I’ve underlined certain things …
so I can go through the 184
pages in about 20 minutes so I
can refresh myself, and then
I’m ready to take on the world.
I look at it about probably once
a month.
I’ve given a copy of it to each
of my executive team members
and several other people.
If one of my people does
something that is out of the way,
I’ll say, ‘You just violated chapter
No. 4,’ or, ‘You just violated
chapter No. 17,’ and they know
exactly what I’m talking about.
I’ll walk down the hallways
and ask people what’s the mission statement, and they say,
‘Always do the right thing.’ They
live it, they breathe it, they have
it on their screensaver on their
PCs. It’s all over the place.
If you always do the right
thing or even if you make a mistake and you try to make it right
by doing the right thing, then
that’s what creates that positive
atmosphere, not only for your
employee base but also for your
customers.
HOW TO REACH: Delta Community Credit Union, (404) 677-4773 or www.deltacommunitycu.com
