“You just dig a little bit deeper,” she says. “Why is this important for the customer” Eventually you get to a point where the answer is logical because you’ve taken away the opinions and the emotion, not the passion.”
But what about employees who aren’t living your core values? By engaging in a conversation that doesn’t become defensive for your employee, you may find out the backstory and get to the heart of the issue.
“Then you have the opportunity to say to him or her, ‘Talk to me about where you’re coming from, and how does it fit in.’ It gives us a common language which isn’t, ‘I don’t like what you’re doing, so-and-so.’ As soon as I say that to you, you just tighten up and inhale deeply.”
Focus on understanding the choice that was made. Maybe there’s a way of still achieving what you want to achieve by making a different choice. All of a sudden it changes the way you can have those conversations.
“At the end of the day, if somebody realizes these aren’t things that they value, they aren’t the things they passionately believe in, then they usually elect to move someplace else, but that’s so rare. Our turnover is extraordinarily low, because it’s really hard to leave a place that says, “We want you to be who you are.”
“We’re just thrilled to be able to have so many people that care so deeply.”
Takeaways
- Align your culture with your message.
- Give employees the chance to be themselves.
- Let how best to take care of the customer be your guide.
The Berg File
Name: Jodi Berg
Title: President and CEO
Company: Vitamix Corp.
Born: The state of New York. I grew up in Pennsylvania. And I’ve lived in Michigan, Kentucky, Utah, Washington . . .
Education: Bowling Green State University. I started in mechanical engineering but went into the business program. I received my master”s degree in business administration at Washington State University.
What was your first job and what did you learn from it? Delivering newspapers. I had morning and after-school routes. For much of the time I had both of them at once because they were having a hard time finding good paper carriers. What I learned from that job is that people cared about their newspaper. I mean, that sounds silly but I realized they needed to have it when they were getting up in the morning and wanted to read the newspaper. It was really important that I got to the place where they wanted it. I couldn’t just throw it in the front yard because they wanted to open the door and get their newspaper. When you got their paper to them on time in the place that it was supposed to be, people were nice to you, and they liked you. And I got to win the Newspaper Carrier of the Year Award in Erie, Pennsylvania.
What was the best business advice you ever received? It’s probably the same that I give to other people: find your passion. Just find what you care about. Find out what you’re passionate about and go with that. It’s proved very well to me. I realized when I went off to school as a mechanical engineer that that was not what I was passionate about. I could think that way, but that wasn’t where my passion lied. It was in the people, and it was in making people happy, and that’s why I ended up in hospitality management. I loved what I did in the hospitality industry, and then I realized I was very passionate about quality. That’s what eventually led me to a dream job, which was director of quality at the Ritz-Carlton.
Who do you admire in business? Those who I admire most are truly the unbelievably hard-working, dedicated people in this company. That’s who I respect the most in the business world.
What is your definition of business success? Making a difference and having a business model that supports your ability to make a difference. I was blessed with a couple of people that shared that with me, starting with my mom. She used to say, ‘You can do anything you desire so pick something you want.’
