Encourage participation
The stronger the bond between employer and employee, the better the chance that the relationship will lead to success, both for the person and for the company. This bond can prove particularly helpful when there are differing opinions about a direction the company is thinking about going.
“Hopefully, we are good listeners,” Epsten says. “We give people the opportunity to express their opinions. What’s important for me is that people be allowed to express themselves. It’s OK to disagree. If somebody wants to voice their opinion, they can voice it not only to their boss but to anybody in the company they want. As long as it is appropriate and done with respect, we feel it’s something that’s really a part of who we are. It may mean that somebody may go to their boss’s boss and express an opinion. That’s something that we’re comfortable doing around here.
“There is a difference between expressing one’s opinion and complaining. Expressing an opinion involves agreement on the overall goal but seeing different ways of getting there. Complaining is being an impediment and not offering any solutions or alternatives.”
One of the most important qualities an employee can have in a culture where ideas are welcome is the ability to think outside of the box.
“Besides intelligence, which is a prerequisite, there has to be a right fit,” Epsten says. “For Major Brands, the right fit is the ability to work in an informal environment (and have) a sense of humor, which probably includes having a thick skin so you can not only give but receive it, as well. Be able to work in an environment where the lines of authority and a way of conducting business is not all clearly spelled out. You will not find large numbers of manuals or directions on the way to do business at Major Brands. Ultimately, we want people that can look at what the big picture is and the common goal and work toward that. There are many different paths to get to the same destination. As long as they understand the destination, we want to make as limited constraints as we can in reaching that.”
Looking to the future, Epsten says Major Brands’ place as one of the largest undergraduate recruiters at the College of Business at the University of Missouri is evidence that the culture is working.
“The ability to work in an organization where there is interaction from top to bottom is something that many young people find as a real asset,” Epsten says. “I don’t think typically in business today there is the contract between an employer and a company that there was in the past. We’ve been lucky enough that if the company is successful and the individual is successful, we can prosper together.”
HOW TO REACH: Major Brands Premium Beverage Distributors, (314) 645-1843 or www.major-brands.com