Burt Kunik wants a culture of employees who think freely and view themselves as entrepreneurs. Kunik, founder, chairman and CEO, of Sharps Compliance Corp., which posted $20 million in fiscal 2009 revenue, has to spread that message throughout the medical waste company.
“The leadership of a company needs to speak at all times relative to the culture that you believe it is — that creates a success that you want in your company,” he says.
Along with an individual message, your company needs to know the mission and vision of the organization. The more employees feel a part of setting and reaching organizational goals, the more successful you will be.
“Everybody needs to feel a part of where you’re going and to be a part of your vision,” he says. “When we have a staff meeting, people all show up and they are very excited to talk about where we are, what we’re doing and the role they can play in it.”
Smart Business spoke with Kunik about how to create an entrepreneurial culture.
Be inviting. You have to invite an openness amongst your employees to make them feel comfortable, always. The big word in the culture that I’ve created is creative entrepreneurship. I think that everybody in the company needs to feel they are part of a creative entrepreneurship. In that regard, I invite people to come in, (and I say), ‘What are your new ideas?’ It just can’t be wrong. The only thing that is wrong is not having ideas and not being able to discuss how we can be a better company. That to me is a big part.
You see that in a lot of companies that are getting started because large corporations have created a lot of people working in silos that aren’t really a part of a creative entrepreneurship. When you are in a company that is a smaller size, you make people feel a part of what you are doing. It’s pretty easy. You just have to want to do that every day.
Be consistent. If you want your people to feel like they are a part of your vision, you have to work on that every day. It’s in contrast to showing up at a meeting, making a statement and then going to do something else. That has to be part of your every day — [from] when you walk into the office to the time that you walk out of the office — that you stand for what you believe in, (which) is the culture of the company.
You have to visit with your staff members. You have to discuss issues with them, you have to make them feel important and part of your creative entrepreneurship there. You have to have frequent meetings where you can have discussions and sharing.