8 Rules For Creating a Passionate Work Culture

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“For individuals, character is destiny. For organizations, culture is destiny. “

— Tony Hsieh, Delivering Happiness

If you want to get the very best out of your employees and increase productivity take a hard look at your company culture. A strong workplace culture not only leads to happier employees, but impressive employee retention rates, innovation, higher levels of customer satisfaction and ultimately growth.

A recent article I read in Fast Company, 8 Rules For Creating a Passionate Work Culture, outlines essential actions that can help you create a culture that reflects your company’s core values and allows your employees to flourish.

Here is my cliff note version:

1. Hire the right people – Hire to your company’s core values and put passion first. Then look at experience second and credentials third.

2. Communicate – Listen more than you speak and give people the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. Without communication trust does not exist.

3. Tend to the weeds – Identify the toxic people in your company, the relentless whiners, and get rid of them.

4. Work hard, play hard – Set a work ethic standard and make sure employees are rewarded for their sacrifices.

5. Be ambitious – Ambition can sometimes be looked down upon. However, the strong desire to achieve is necessary to make changes and propel forward. Create a culture that supports powerful beliefs and what could be considered big steps.

6. Celebrate differences – When you bring together people from different backgrounds with varying experiences and interests you create room for collaboration and energy.

7. Create the space – Want your employees to be innovative? Make sure your space encourages interaction and connectivity. Click HERE for some work spaces that may inspire you.

8. Take the long view – The culture needs to look ahead, not just months, but years and decades.

 

 

Author: April Jennings

The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication

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Recently, all of us at Brightwing collaboratively worked on our new Cultural Standards that we recently unveiled – with one of those standards being ‘Build Relationships for Life’.  And part of the ‘Build Relationships for Life’ standard is to communicate face-to-face when possible.

With the increasing presence of electronic gadgets and social media, which are useful and necessary aspects of doing business in today’s tech savvy and global climate, sometimes what gets lost is the good old-fashion face-to-face conversation.  There is no amount of technological advancements that can ever substitute that.

Kathleen Begley, author of “Face-to-Face Communication, Making Human Connections in a Technology-Driven World” correctly states, “face-to-face communication remains the most powerful human interaction” and “as wonderful as electronic devices are they can never fully replace the intimacy and immediacy of people conversing in the same room and it has worked for millions of years.”

There are many advantages to having face-to-face conversations and at the head of that list is simply – trust.  Eye contact, body language, voice inflection and tone help create a real connection.  Research states that up to 70% of what we say comes from unspoken signals, facial expressions and tone.  There is a personal commitment and of course the interaction factor when having face-to-face conversations that certainly make it more authentic.  These conversations are not only useful for relationship building and productive outcomes, but they’re more efficient than one might think.

The value of a face-to-face conversation should never be taken for granted and pushed aside.  What we learn about ourselves and others is priceless and part of the human experience which truly links us together.

 

Author: Jason Hochstein

The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication

,

Recently, all of us at Brightwing collaboratively worked on our new Cultural Standards that we recently unveiled – with one of those standards being ‘Build Relationships for Life’.  And part of the ‘Build Relationships for Life’ standard is to communicate face-to-face when possible.

With the increasing presence of electronic gadgets and social media, which are useful and necessary aspects of doing business in today’s tech savvy and global climate, sometimes what gets lost is the good old-fashion face-to-face conversation.  There is no amount of technological advancements that can ever substitute that.

Kathleen Begley, author of “Face-to-Face Communication, Making Human Connections in a Technology-Driven World” correctly states, “face-to-face communication remains the most powerful human interaction” and “as wonderful as electronic devices are they can never fully replace the intimacy and immediacy of people conversing in the same room and it has worked for millions of years.”

There are many advantages to having face-to-face conversations and at the head of that list is simply – trust.  Eye contact, body language, voice inflection and tone help create a real connection.  Research states that up to 70% of what we say comes from unspoken signals, facial expressions and tone.  There is a personal commitment and of course the interaction factor when having face-to-face conversations that certainly make it more authentic.  These conversations are not only useful for relationship building and productive outcomes, but they’re more efficient than one might think.

The value of a face-to-face conversation should never be taken for granted and pushed aside.  What we learn about ourselves and others is priceless and part of the human experience which truly links us together.

 

Author: Jason Hochstein

A Case for Continuous Learning in the Workplace

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There’s something about spring time…the days are longer and brighter.  The songs of the birds in the morning are a little louder.  People start to shed their heavy sweaters in favor of airy cottons in perky colors.  All of those things put a little more bounce in your step as the winter (at least in Michigan) melts away.

But what about energizing your insides?  What can you do to feel like you’ve opened the door to your mind and brushed the cobwebs out?

At Brightwing, we have an ABG Program (Always Be Growing) where  employees  collaborate with their managers and choose their own path to learning something new.  It can be something traditional – like a class; something hands-on (like shadowing a co-worker to get a better understanding of their position and challenges); or something of a more personal nature – like getting a group of your co-workers to exercise together.

It is our philosophy that whatever you do to expand your mind and experiences will help you grow stronger as a person and improve the company as a whole. According to “How to Incorporate Career Development and Training with Work Requirements” published by SHRM (3/26/2010), focusing on the following will help determine appropriate training:

  • Recognizing departmental goals and objectives as a basis for developing employees
  • Managers should be in a position to assist the employee in achieving their goals and helping them to manage their time so they can reach their objective
  • The organization’s goals should be communicated through a policy that creates a culture supporting employee development  (tuition refund, etc.)

 

If you are in a position to offer growth opportunities to the people in your organization, make it an amazing experience for them.  Help them see the advantages of learning something new.

And if you are the one who is given the chance to learn something new???  Don’t look for the easy way out!  Challenge yourself to really do the analysis on where you want to be and how you are going to get there.  Learning is all around you.  In the words of Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

 

A Case for Continuous Learning in the Workplace

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There’s something about spring time…the days are longer and brighter.  The songs of the birds in the morning are a little louder.  People start to shed their heavy sweaters in favor of airy cottons in perky colors.  All of those things put a little more bounce in your step as the winter (at least in Michigan) melts away.

But what about energizing your insides?  What can you do to feel like you’ve opened the door to your mind and brushed the cobwebs out?

At Brightwing, we have an ABG Program (Always Be Growing) where  employees  collaborate with their managers and choose their own path to learning something new.  It can be something traditional – like a class; something hands-on (like shadowing a co-worker to get a better understanding of their position and challenges); or something of a more personal nature – like getting a group of your co-workers to exercise together.

It is our philosophy that whatever you do to expand your mind and experiences will help you grow stronger as a person and improve the company as a whole. According to “How to Incorporate Career Development and Training with Work Requirements” published by SHRM (3/26/2010), focusing on the following will help determine appropriate training:

  • Recognizing departmental goals and objectives as a basis for developing employees
  • Managers should be in a position to assist the employee in achieving their goals and helping them to manage their time so they can reach their objective
  • The organization’s goals should be communicated through a policy that creates a culture supporting employee development  (tuition refund, etc.)

 

If you are in a position to offer growth opportunities to the people in your organization, make it an amazing experience for them.  Help them see the advantages of learning something new.

And if you are the one who is given the chance to learn something new???  Don’t look for the easy way out!  Challenge yourself to really do the analysis on where you want to be and how you are going to get there.  Learning is all around you.  In the words of Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

 

How to Stay Creative in the Workplace

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Staying creative in the workplace can be challenging, even if you work in a creative environment all day long. I was recently asked in a marketing meeting what websites, books or blogs I read for inspiration and creativity and my list wasn’t that long, in fact it was downright pathetic. I never made time for surfing the web to view other designer’s work or reading design blogs mainly because I felt I couldn’t give myself permission to take the time away from my daily job duties. So I challenged myself to find interesting design websites, blogs and articles to view or read several days a week, such as Pinterest.  Once I gave myself that permission, I opened myself up to a whole new world of creativity, excitement and a fresh perspective on ways I can be more creative.

The article “5 Ways to Ignite Creativity” by guest author, TJ Philpott states, “In order to promote our own ability for thinking outside the box and spawn the creativity we seek within ourselves deliberate measures sometimes need be taken”. One of his suggestions is to separate yourself from the work environment which is usually a very structured environment with triggers that limits one’s ability to create and causes one to focus more on the issues and functions of that environment. Our marketing department is following this suggestion. We have decided that each month we will focus on a new creative medium and choose a day to do a mini field trip to explore that medium. For instance, March is Interior Design, April is Television & Movies and June is Culinary. The idea being that exploring different forms of creativity and getting “away from our work environment” will open our minds to be more creative in what we do on a daily basis.

So what do you do if you don’t work in an extremely creative field or department? What if your job is more technical? How do you stay fresh, come up with new ideas and think outside of the box? I collaborated with Brightwing Recruiter Angela Crooker to get her perspective on staying creative in the recruiting field.

Being a Recruiter is more of a technical job but you can also be very creative! When you are looking for candidates for a position, sometimes you have to get creative.

Bianca Male, in the article “10 Creative Recruiting Strategies to Hire Great People”, states “…many companies are embracing creative recruiting.”  Recruiters these days have to think outside of this box. Some of the ideas that this article suggests are some Angela uses every day, like utilizing obscure social networks. Angela also likes to meet with candidates after work hours in a group setting to discuss things such as resume and cover letter building. This brings her a lot of referrals.

By staying creative in your career, you will have greater success. Being creative doesn’t always mean painting a picture or sculpting something, it’s as simple as the dictionary describes it – the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods and interpretations. This can mean just thinking outside of the box, making use of creative thoughts and problem-solving like Angela does when looking for new ways to find candidates. Something as simple as day dreaming is considered to be a constructive way to help foster new ideas and to open your mind to creative thinking. So anyone at any type of job can find a moment to step away from their usual setting to do something that will open themselves up to more creativity.

Authors: Carol Koskyn, Angela Crooker

How to Stay Creative in the Workplace

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Staying creative in the workplace can be challenging, even if you work in a creative environment all day long. I was recently asked in a marketing meeting what websites, books or blogs I read for inspiration and creativity and my list wasn’t that long, in fact it was downright pathetic. I never made time for surfing the web to view other designer’s work or reading design blogs mainly because I felt I couldn’t give myself permission to take the time away from my daily job duties. So I challenged myself to find interesting design websites, blogs and articles to view or read several days a week, such as Pinterest.  Once I gave myself that permission, I opened myself up to a whole new world of creativity, excitement and a fresh perspective on ways I can be more creative.

The article “5 Ways to Ignite Creativity” by guest author, TJ Philpott states, “In order to promote our own ability for thinking outside the box and spawn the creativity we seek within ourselves deliberate measures sometimes need be taken”. One of his suggestions is to separate yourself from the work environment which is usually a very structured environment with triggers that limits one’s ability to create and causes one to focus more on the issues and functions of that environment. Our marketing department is following this suggestion. We have decided that each month we will focus on a new creative medium and choose a day to do a mini field trip to explore that medium. For instance, March is Interior Design, April is Television & Movies and June is Culinary. The idea being that exploring different forms of creativity and getting “away from our work environment” will open our minds to be more creative in what we do on a daily basis.

So what do you do if you don’t work in an extremely creative field or department? What if your job is more technical? How do you stay fresh, come up with new ideas and think outside of the box? I collaborated with Brightwing Recruiter Angela Crooker to get her perspective on staying creative in the recruiting field.

Being a Recruiter is more of a technical job but you can also be very creative! When you are looking for candidates for a position, sometimes you have to get creative.

Bianca Male, in the article “10 Creative Recruiting Strategies to Hire Great People”, states “…many companies are embracing creative recruiting.”  Recruiters these days have to think outside of this box. Some of the ideas that this article suggests are some Angela uses every day, like utilizing obscure social networks. Angela also likes to meet with candidates after work hours in a group setting to discuss things such as resume and cover letter building. This brings her a lot of referrals.

By staying creative in your career, you will have greater success. Being creative doesn’t always mean painting a picture or sculpting something, it’s as simple as the dictionary describes it – the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods and interpretations. This can mean just thinking outside of the box, making use of creative thoughts and problem-solving like Angela does when looking for new ways to find candidates. Something as simple as day dreaming is considered to be a constructive way to help foster new ideas and to open your mind to creative thinking. So anyone at any type of job can find a moment to step away from their usual setting to do something that will open themselves up to more creativity.

Authors: Carol Koskyn, Angela Crooker

Dead Car Battery Confirms Brightwing Truly Is a Cool Place to Work

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Last Thursday night I went to the Crain’s Detroit award ceremony for the “Coolest Place to Work” at the Henry Ford Museum and I can tell you that being outside of the office setting with people from Brightwing was a real blast.   We were one of 4 companies featured in the “highlights” video that Crain’s produced and sitting in the auditorium, watching our CEO – dressed up as Cruella Deville for Halloween was priceless.  Oh, yeah we also had one of our sales guys dress up as Sparty, but I am a Grand Valley State fan so whatever.

Crain’s put on a nice show…Bells beer was flowing and they had a photo booth, so 6 of us crammed in and took a bunch of pictures.  And, this is cool, they had a true to size airplane cabin complete with seats and overhead storage so we drank and celebrated in the plane.

But the most memorable part of the evening happened after we all got back to the office from the event when I realized that my car was dead.  I had accidentally left my lights on and my car wouldn’t start.  Everyone stayed with me, in the cold and rain while one person drove all the way home to get jumper cables.  And that’s it… at 10:15 at night my coworkers spent almost 40 minutes helping me with my car problems.  I am truly blessed, Brightwing is indeed a cool place to work.

 

Halloween Dos and Don’ts for Work and Home

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It is almost Halloween ~ frighteningly fun for adults and children alike! For dogs like me, sometimes it is just plain frightening. Here are some helpful hints for my canine and feline friends as well as our human caretakers.

If you are thinking that your favorite fido or feline companion might look smart in a costume here are some things to think about. Some small and toy breeds (dogs I refer to as “snack dogs”) are used to wearing clothing and probably do not mind dressing up. Most dogs and especially cats are not used to wearing clothing or anything on their feet. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals warns that “costumes should not limit an animal’s movement, hearing, sight or ability to breathe, bark, eat, drink or eliminate. And watch for choking hazards.” It is also important to remember that common Halloween treats are toxic to dogs and cats: chocolate, raisins macadamia nuts and XYLITOL (the sweetener used in candy, baking and sugar free gum). Do not leave those treat sacks on the counter or close to where your canine and feline pals can get them. Noises and costumes, screams and squeals may scare us. Keep us in a calm place when goblins are trick or treating at your house.

Now you humans have a whole different set of DO’S and DON’T’S for costumes at work. First, DO make sure it is OK to dress up in the first place. Nothing worse than showing up for work and being the only one dressed up. DO make sure people know that it is optional. Some people do not like to dress up or do not believe in celebrating Halloween. DO NOT make people uncomfortable! DO NOT wear something revealing, sexy, gory or offensive. DO NOT make fun of anyone’s religion or political beliefs! DO consider group costumes. It gives people who might otherwise not dress up the chance to participate. DO stay current, if it is old news then it is boring. DO try to involve everyone – make it a party, decorate your workspace have a contest!

For after hours, a Fandango.com survey reveals the top costumes this year are pregnant Bella from the soon to be released  “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -Part 1” and Captain Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean’s”.

Remember the things that go bump in the night may make us animals and people act out of character. Remember these DOs and DON’Ts and everyone will have fun!

Happy Howl~loween!

 

Halloween Dos and Don’ts for Work and Home

,

It is almost Halloween ~ frighteningly fun for adults and children alike! For dogs like me, sometimes it is just plain frightening. Here are some helpful hints for my canine and feline friends as well as our human caretakers.

If you are thinking that your favorite fido or feline companion might look smart in a costume here are some things to think about. Some small and toy breeds (dogs I refer to as “snack dogs”) are used to wearing clothing and probably do not mind dressing up. Most dogs and especially cats are not used to wearing clothing or anything on their feet. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals warns that “costumes should not limit an animal’s movement, hearing, sight or ability to breathe, bark, eat, drink or eliminate. And watch for choking hazards.” It is also important to remember that common Halloween treats are toxic to dogs and cats: chocolate, raisins macadamia nuts and XYLITOL (the sweetener used in candy, baking and sugar free gum). Do not leave those treat sacks on the counter or close to where your canine and feline pals can get them. Noises and costumes, screams and squeals may scare us. Keep us in a calm place when goblins are trick or treating at your house.

Now you humans have a whole different set of DO’S and DON’T’S for costumes at work. First, DO make sure it is OK to dress up in the first place. Nothing worse than showing up for work and being the only one dressed up. DO make sure people know that it is optional. Some people do not like to dress up or do not believe in celebrating Halloween. DO NOT make people uncomfortable! DO NOT wear something revealing, sexy, gory or offensive. DO NOT make fun of anyone’s religion or political beliefs! DO consider group costumes. It gives people who might otherwise not dress up the chance to participate. DO stay current, if it is old news then it is boring. DO try to involve everyone – make it a party, decorate your workspace have a contest!

For after hours, a Fandango.com survey reveals the top costumes this year are pregnant Bella from the soon to be released  “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -Part 1” and Captain Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean’s”.

Remember the things that go bump in the night may make us animals and people act out of character. Remember these DOs and DON’Ts and everyone will have fun!

Happy Howl~loween!

 

Michigan Business and Professional Association Grants Brightwing Recognition as One of the “101 Best and Brightest Places to Work”

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Honor Comes on the Heels of Crain’s Detroit Business “Cool Places to Work” Award, Inc. Magazine “Top Small Company Workplace” Award and Dallas Business Journal “Best Place to Work” Award

TROY, Mich. – August 18, 2011 – Troy, Mich.-based Brightwing, the staffing and training company that elevates human performance, has been recognized as one of the best and brightest places to work by the Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA). The company will be honored on Thursday, Sept. 29 at the Dearborn Inn Marriott.

For consideration as an honoree, an independent evaluation was conducted by a research firm based on key measures in a variety of categories, including communication, compensation and benefits, diversity and multiculturalism, employee education and development, employee engagement and development, recognition and retention, recruitment and selection , work-life balance and community initiatives.

“We’re very proud to have received this honor from the MPBA,” said Brightwing CEO Aaron Chernow. “Helping businesses cultivate rewarding and engaging environments that help elevate the potential of them and their employees is what we do every day. But that our company is a place where our team feels excited to come to work every day is something that creates a special sense of pride and accomplishment.”

In addition to the MBPA recognition, Brightwing in 2011 was named a “Top Small Company Workplace” by Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces, and a Crain’s Detroit Business’ “Cool Place to Work,” a recognition it also won in 2009 – a consecutive honor as Crain’s recognizes “cool” workplaces every other year. It was also named a Dallas Business Journal “2010 Best Place to Work,” and a 2009 and 2010 “101 Best and Brightest Company to Work For” by the Michigan Business and Professional Association (MBPA) and Corp! Magazine.

Brightwing represents more than 550 consultants and clients nationwide. The company has offices in Dallas, Texas, and Weston, Fla.

About Brightwing: At Brightwing our goal is different. We help people and organizations of all types and sizes enhance performance levels in the workplace. From staffing and recruiting to training and development, we are all about creating workplace environments where employees thrive! We do this by listening, advising and delivering well thought out performance-based people solutions. We believe it takes a personal approach. It also takes knowledge and intuition that can only be gained through 35 years of experience in asking the right questions.

Brightwing has been named a “Top Small Company Workplace,” by Inc. Magazine, a “Cool Place to Work,” by Crain’s Detroit Business, a “101 Best and Brightest Company to Work For,” by the Michigan Business and Professional Association and Corp! Magazine and a “2010 Best Place to Work,” by Dallas Business Journal. Headquartered in Troy, MI, Brightwing has branch offices in Dallas, TX, and Weston, FL.  To discover the Brightwing difference, visit www.brightwingbdev.wpenginepowered.com.

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Media Contact
April Jennings
800521.2478
[email protected]

 

The Hiring Dilemma: Culture vs Talent

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Hiring a new employee is a skill that involves a lot of tact. It’s really an art form. In essence, you are bringing someone into your organization to provide something of value or fulfill a need. Obviously, most hiring managers go for talent that has the experience to back it up. This method does not always take in the big picture.

Flight Restriction

Hiring an employee based off experience alone will not necessarily garner the best outcome. It is the Brightwing belief that the people you hire have to also come with one essential thing; the ability to uphold your core values by having a genuine interest in the work and to get along with the people that they interact with on a daily basis. Is your company using this idea to the fullest?

Take Off

Let’s take a closer look to explain what we mean. Say you are in the business of hiring cartoon characters for a cold calling position. Your first potential hire is a spunky cat with little experience in the industry, but a chipper personality and desire to learn. He seems to have almost all of the values that your company does, but his experience in the line of work is from a different position. You decide you want to wait for someone with more experience. Your next potential hire is a tall, gray rabbit with a carrot in his mouth. He seems pretty personable, greeting you with a “What’s up doc?” His resume is also very promising. He gets the position based on past experience alone.

The new employee comes to work the next day, eyes bloodshot from too many carrots the previous night. He sits down and dials up his first cold call. The first core value of your company is taking the time to build a relationship with those you call, but this employee is very apathetic to his candidates. In the cubicle next to him is your best employee; a short man with a speech impediment, a hunting suit, and a rifle. Obviously things are going to go sour at this point. Suddenly, the new employee’s experience means nothing because he is running for his life. Your best employee is also rendered useless because he is too busy trying to kill your new one. What does this mean? The workplace is shot along with your client base because your employees cannot get along with each other, let alone spend the time to create a relationship with your patrons.

The new employee’s resume looked amazing, but he was actually not a good fit for your company because he didn’t share the same core values. He was also not able to work with other employees in the building. For this reason, it is important to always ask the right questions in the interview process so that you have a good idea of the person’s fit within the company. In this case, the first potential was probably the better choice. He seemed to care more about the job and have the core values that would have helped him fit within the company. Obviously, finding a mix between both candidates can happen too and is the desired outcome, but it does not always happen. Most hiring managers never even consider these ideas when screening potential employees.

Maintaining Altitude

The hiring process has to be about more than what’s on paper. You need people who can do their task well, but be devoted to it and the relationships with those around them in the process. Genuine employees go the extra mile because they really care about your company’s purpose. That is what you want right?

How to Get the Most out of Meetings

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We all remember the movie Ocean’s Eleven. Most of us wanted to be involved in a heist after. The movie just made it seem so cool with all the nifty ideas that were utilized to be successful. Heists are bad, and yet we were rooting for the team. Well, what made the eleven people so successful? They did something a lot in the movie that brought their ideas together. They had meetings!

Flight Restriction

In the business world, one cannot get anywhere without conducting meetings. They do more than just bring coworkers together. Meetings are the ideal way to spread ideas and make sure a project or task is done with ideas of all involved, but how exactly do you get the most out of them?

Take Off

1. People– The first thing that someone needs to decide is who to bring to a meeting. A DISC assessment might be a good way to decide which people to involve. DISC is a physiological assessment that places people into four different groups. They are as follows:

Dominance: Likes order, control, and assertiveness

Influence: Very social and likes to work in teams; optimistic

Steadiness: Patient but persistent; follows orders well

Conscientiousness: Likes taking everything into account, structure, and accuracy.

Obviously you need a good balance of these personalities in order to get the most out of a meeting. Two dominant people will just kill each other for leadership, and too many influential people will just socialize about what’s happening on their Facebook. A group of steady people will have no leader and likely die of starvation, and conscientious people will just be a giant pile of paranoia.

2. Agenda– Know what you want to do beforehand. Sit down and create a skeleton framework for what you need to discuss and its importance in the grand scheme of things. Try to frame out what questions you want to ask and form a clear purpose for the meeting. Without an objective, people might start discussing alternate dimensions or other things to scare other members or create an explosion of irrelevant information.

3. Know Your Limits– The best way to get anything out of a meeting is to know when to move on. You can sit there all day and debate on a topic, but might never reach a decision. Spend a little time on it, but if no clear decision is being made, then tell everyone to take some time to think about it outside of the meeting and press on to the next subject. The good thing about meetings is that you can reconvene. There is no limit! Remember to also finish the meeting with expectations of deadlines and what to do next.

4. Think outside of the box– Don’t be afraid to get some outsiders involved. Meetings might be productive if everyone is knowledgeable on the topic, but that might also be a downfall. You might think something is explained well or developed because you already have knowledge on the topic. Getting someone from the office who isn’t involved can assure that all angles are looked at.

Maintaining Altitude

These simple rules will assure that your meetings will be successful. Embrace the different personalities in your office and utilize them to your advantage. One more thing- set the mood for your meetings. If it’s warm out, why not meet outside? If it’s cold and rainy, go to a comfortable place with some soft background music. If it has to be professional, then you can go to the conference rooms, but people like to be relaxed when sitting in a group for long periods of time!

Getting to the Core of Your Core Values

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What is your company’s core purpose? Have you ever even taken the time to answer this question? A company without a purpose is about as successful as a sailboat without a sail. You can still float, but going forward is out of the question. It is the heart of what your company stands for in the long run. Employees can come and go but your reason for being stays the same.

Flight Restriction

You might be saying right now, “Oh that’s easy! We sell blah product or blah resources to blah companies.” Guess what? That makes you a blah company! Core purposes do not deal in specifics, but look at the big picture.

Take Off

You’re still confused right? You thought you had this one in the bag with no thought. The best way to illustrate how a core purpose should be presented is to look at a company that has been around for years. What better company to spotlight than Disney? The Walt Disney Corporation has been a powerhouse in the world for decades. Now, what would have happened if Disney decided way back in its beginnings that its core purpose was to “Market the Mickey Mouse cartoon to the young generation in order to make money?” It’s specific enough and at the time it was probably all that they wanted to do. Most companies believe the bottom line is just to make profit. However, in the grand scheme of things, this is a horrible core purpose. If Disney dealt in specifics, then there would be no giant theme parks all over the world and no empire of beloved characters and movies to go along with it. They would have never conquered the world!

Disney chose a much more simplistic core purpose, “to make people happy.” It’s so simple but it works. The more intricate purposes are all included in this one simple phrase. Mickey Mouse makes people happy, and so by making them happy, Disney is also marketing Mickey to a young generation. The parks and other characters in their repertoire just add to this core purpose. Don’t think too hard! Take what you want to do and simplify it so that your purpose is never limited! Our core purpose at Brightwing is “is to help individuals and enterprises elevate and enhance performance in the workplace” It is a much more open purpose than to just help people find jobs and get money!

A core purpose cannot come true without having employees on board, however. Let’s say Disney hired an amazing marketer that could make Mickey look like gold. Said marketer could care less about the happiness of those he advertised the character to, but loved the money that came rolling in. Eventually, this employee would not be able to uphold the Disney purpose. If all he cares about is profits and does not know how to make his clientele happy, other characters or creations that Disney wants him to market could be a huge flop. Likewise, hiring a writer that creates stories for Mickey that don’t paint him in a good light would take smiles away faster than tragic accidents. Uphold your core purpose by looking for employees who genuinely want to represent it.

Maintaining Altitude

Creating a core purpose requires you to take a step back and ask why. You can think of specific aspects of your company’s being all day long, but until you know the core reason for why you are doing these things, you cannot get the big picture for what your company wants to do in the future. A core purpose should be able to last centuries and still hold true. I should be able to dig it up years from now and display it in a museum! Think about that next time you are deciding how to grow your company!

Unique Ways to Motivate Employees

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Motivation is the key to success! We all know this. A lack of motivation means a lack of results. If you ask employees what will motivate them, a lot of them will leap out of their seats with neck stretched, and eyes bulged, teeth wide, and exclaim “MONEY” without even thinking. Sure, you’ll get the select few who can do their job with as little motivation as a Twinkie on a stick, but that is few and far between.

Flight Restriction

We all know the typical ways to motivate employees, but there are also some very unique ones that people often miss out on. Do you think you have the perks to keep your company elevated?

Take Off

  1. Exercise Area- Most people hate exercise but do it anyway. This method provides two forms of motivation. It allows employees to fuel each other’s desire to exercise because working out with a partner is always more motivating than going for it alone. Set up a room in the office with some exercise equipment, such as a treadmill or elliptical. If you have the resources, offer cardio classes such as yoga or kickboxing once a week. Exercise releases endorphins which make people happy! Happy people are likely to be more motivated in the workplace, and looking good from doing it is also a plus! These utilities should only be used on down time though, such as before or after work, or during lunch.
  2. Game Room- The future is here! Another good break option for employees would be a small room with anything from board games to video games. The Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Kinect, and Sony Move are all amazing options in this area. They allow for interactive play, especially the Kinect. Anyone could love this. There is no controller, and the games are simple and fun while making your body move as the controller. It’s a great way for employees to socialize with each other and enjoy themselves. If they enjoy themselves at work, they will likely produce much bigger results.
  3. Field Trips- Everyone loved field trips as a kid, so why stop now? Put sign up sheets around the office in advance for shows, movies, sports games, weekend picnics, museums, or even something small, such as bungee jumping or sky diving. This gives employees the ability to socialize with each other outside of work. A company that offers ways for employees to communicate outside of the office usually has a more unified team. Unification creates motivation and better progress!
  4. Prizes and Awards- Holding contests throughout the year is a great way to keep people motivated, especially if the prize is something good. Please do not hold beauty contests, however, as they are likely to hurt motivation rather than raise it.
  5. Food- People might hate exercise, but they love food. Having food around the office is one of the simplest ways to keep people motivated!

Maintaining Altitude

Well there you have it. These are just a few of the ways you can motivate employees in a different manner than usual. There are some people who just like to be Debbie downers and are unmotivated by nature. These are likely not good employees, however. For the rest, these tips should increase morale. You can go ahead and remove the Twinkies on sticks from peoples’ cubicles now.

How to Instill Your Core Values in the Workplace

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Brightwing CEO Aaron Chernow was included in The CEO Advantage’s roundup on how to instill core values in the workplace and keep them alive. Here’s a brief summary of the conversation.

CORE VALUES have become so integral to the business lexicon that their existence is almost taken for granted. Go to the website of just about any small or midsize business, and you will likely find a page dedicated to core values. But precisely because they are so common,  business leaders must be especially diligent to keep them from becoming stagnant. What can CEOs and executive teams do to instill core values in the workplace and continually align their organizations around them?

The CEO Advantage Journal asked this question to three CEOs of midsize organizations. These leaders have helped their organizations grow despite a tough economy, and they credit much of their success to instilling core values in the workplace and driving focused alignment through them. Their ideas and experiences should be of value to other executives looking for ways to keep their core values truly core.

About Brightwing

For 50 years, Brightwing has focused on becoming a global leader in providing recruiting and learning solutions across a wide range of industries. Today, Resource has more than 550 consultants and 100 clients nationwide. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, Resource has satellite offices in Dallas, Texas, and Weston, Florida.

Brightwing Core Values

  • People People
    Maintaining a relationship based on a personal need to help and serve others.
  • Details, Details, Details
    Providing a safe environment to uncover what matters most to those you serve–attention to the details that truly matter are imperative to your success.
  • Positive Enthusiasm
    You attract success to you and those around you by believing “I can.”
  • Persistence
    Possessing the inner drive to position oneself to overachieve daily.
  • Family Centric
    Valuing those around us as a source and beneficiary of our success.
  • Integrity
    Treat all with dignity, honesty and respect and you shall receive it in kind.

Why is it so important to clearly articulate your core values?

They align our organization. In 2000, we were only a small group of individuals struggling to establish some consistent growth. We went on a hiring binge looking for individuals that we thought could help grow the company.Over time, we found that we were dealing more with personnel issues than business issues. So the challenge was to find the right kind of people. That’s when we first developed our core values. We needed something to help us identify individuals who were in alignment with who we are. Initially, our values were a hiring tool, but they have morphed into something so much more. We look at core values like a song.They mean something different to each individual, but all within the range of the song. What are some ways that you reinforce your core values within your organization? They’re proudly posted when you walk in. They’re on our website,our mouse pads, our coffee mugs. People understand how important they are when they see them all over the workplace.

We reward people based on core values. Our “employee of the month” is given to someone who uniquely demonstrated one of our six core values. We have a quarterly “grinder award,” which goes to someone who has displayed the core value of persistence throughout that quarter. In addition, we publish weekly “core values stories” where employees recognize something they have seen in a coworker. We get good participation on that from throughout the company.

You have multiple office locations. How do you ensure consistency in values throughout your company?

That has been a challenge for us. We try to leverage technology to help with that. For example, we post the “core values stories” on the intranet for everyone to see. Recently, we’ve done this in the form of video. That gives a face to the story. When people see someone telling the story, I think they more strongly identify with the behavior that is being celebrated. We actually had a contest around this where a winner in each branch office got a flip phone.

What else have you done to keep core values alive?

Based on our own experience, we have developed a screening process that determines how well a potential hire identifies with your core values. In addition to helping us attract the right individuals, we also teach this process to our clients.

What impact have core values had for Brightwing during a down economy?

This has been a tough year for us, but we have found that employees who have a good understanding of our core values also understand their role within the company and what they must do to help us be successful. That is so important when times are tough, and it has helped us keep the right people on board. Those who are not aligned with our core values quickly stand out. It seems that some organizations have given up on their core values in tough times. I guess those values were not really core. If they were, those companies would walk the walk and talk the talk, no matter what the economy is doing. Our actions have remained consistent with our core values, and our people recognize that. It’s really helped them attach more strongly to our purpose. Purpose and core values blend together to create the energy here, and that energy has created a reprieve for our people from what’s going on outside.

Do you have a favorite story about an employee who exemplified these core values?

I have a million of them! Perhaps our most important value during this economic downturn has been persistence: possessing the inner drive to overachieve daily. I have so many stories of people who have really dug deep to understand their strengths and weaknesses and worked to get better. That’s the proud story of the year. Many people have worked through their blind spots.

Read the entire article here.