By Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Small Giants (by Bo Burlingham, editor-at-large for Inc. magazine) opens a window so we can take a glimpse of a new business culture emerging. Burlingham interviewed several of what he calls "small giants." These companies see higher goals for business than just being the biggest, fastest growing, massive market domineering companies.
A new focus is on quality more than size(some have set limits on size but with unlimited standards for quality), building community more than just building the bottom-line, put employees first and customers second(when employees are well cared for they do very well in caring for the customers).
The new word is "intimacy."
Intimacy with the employee team, intimacy with customers and the creation of intimate community among each other. Zingerman’s Deli, Ann Arbor, Michigan is one example of these small giants.
Zingerman’s is in business for the purpose to contribute to the community although they don't use "good" as a clever avenue to business image building. Relationships with their communities overlap with their relationships with their customers and employees.
A phrase they espouse is "enlightened hospitality." Even when disaster strikes, like a waitress spilling water on a customer’s table, the whole serving team jumps in quickly to lighten the mood. They focus on building an intimate relationship with the customer, finding what their personal preferences are and knowing them when they come in each time to eat. It’s more than being nice and friendly, but knowing what the customer "really" likes and doing it.
They practice five core values:
Caring for each other
Caring for guests
Caring for the community
Caring for suppliers
Caring for investors and profitability
(in that order)
And the whole time making the job intensely and expectantly personal. They go beyond having satisfied customers. They work to have “happy” customers.
How do you build intimacy?
It depends on the relationship with each person in charge and employees.
--direct contact
--know who they are and what they do
--spend time together
--sharing important experiences together
--numerous one-on-one personal encounters.
One company leader shared that he looks out over his parking lot and says,
“I feel responsible for all those people out there.” ... “If you want a company that cares, you need people who care, and they need to be motivated by more than money. It takes well-designed, appropriate and value-driven systems, and processes to support and create the kind of cultures we’re all going after.”
Zingerman's has gained much notoriety on how they do business.
So they formed ZingTrain
(http://zingtrain.com/home.php)
that teaches other businesses its ways of doing business.
They persistently preach these cardinal steps to great service.
1. Figure out what the customer wants.
2. Get it for them accurately, politely and enthusiastically
3. Go the extra mile.
Small Giants’ author goes on to point out that he sees a growing, developing trend in business… "a burgeoning international movement to explore the role of Spirituality in work, and of work in Spirituality."
One company, Reell Precision Manufacturing
(Reell is from the German dictionary meaning honesty, dependability, or having authority) purposely expresses Christian perspectives in all they do. They feel responsible to expand each person to their full potential and have their business as an opportunity for each employee to do that.
Note Small Giants’ website:
http://www.smallgiantsbook.com/
What builds people is Spirit.
Spirit created all matter.
All that has ever started, lives and is transformed is by Spirit.
Spirit works in calculated patterns and has certain characteristics of its character, personality, functional dynamics. Jesus outlined many of these in the famous talk He gave on a hill.
(Matthew 5-7)
What if we used Jesus' principles and the Apostle Paul's as our relationship guidelines for building our business culture.
A checklist of normal behavior for building dynamic business culture would look like this:
--Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them.
--Stand on the side of the good.
--Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.
--Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.
--Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.
--When God's children are in need, be the one to help them out.
--If people aren't nice, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them.
--When others are happy, be happy with them.
--If they are sad, share their sorrow.
--Live in harmony with each other.
--Don't try to act important, but enjoy being around ordinary people.
--And don't think you know it all!
(above from Romans 12: 9-18)
--Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
--Make allowance for each other's faults.
--Forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you forgive others.
--And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.
--And let the peace that comes from Jesus rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace.
--Always be grateful !
(from Colossians 3:12-15)
Be One.
Be one in Love.
Practice love that is "sacrificial Love."
Put others’ interests before yours. Rejoice more in others’ success than yours. Build others up before taking what you think you deserve.
Our behavior in relationships determines the magnitude of Spirit Power we have.
Why did Jesus feel being One, seeing ourselves as One in Spirit, in Community is so important as He prayed in John 17: 21? "My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father--that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us."
This is where the Power is... We, each other as One, and We as One, being One in Spirit with God and Jesus.
This force creates and re-creates all world systems. We can integrate ourselves with each other into this. We can in reality function in World Transforming Power.
The Small Giants are re-thinking the art of business. A New Spirit of business is morphing Spiritual principles in all their business practices.They are business transformational forerunners re-structuring business systems, priorities and business functions in America.
As One in Spirit, in Jesus Spirit, the enacting claim becomes ours...
"for YOU will DO even greater things."
We literally, as One in community within and outside the business, have this phenomenal power of Spirit working with us. We can thrive sensationally, extraordinarily, notably…Super-Naturally.
Live as One.
Apply Spiritually-charged, personal relationship standards to your daily checklist.
The Power of Spirit merges and collaborates with all you do.
Above all, each and everyone be One in Spirit in God, Jesus and all the Power of the Universe partners with you.
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