“Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast”. When I used to hear that I thought it was just more 1980s-business-management-BS. I thought efficiency, hard work and monetary incentives were all a small business needed. And I was ridiculously wrong.
When Heejin and I first shifted JVM to our current super-service, team-oriented model, we had ample talent and fantastic ideas, and we worked around the clock. And we nearly flamed out.
It is now obvious why: our culture sucked. Heejin and I didn’t walk the walk (we got surly all too often), and we prioritized talent over attitude.
We now focus on culture more than anything else, and everything else (service, diligence, innovation, fun) just follows. And it works unbelievably well.
Every organization, no matter how small, needs to obsess with culture we now realize. Business owners need to carefully define their culture and identify key “culture carriers” within the organization.
The benefits include far less dissension, far more teamwork, far more innovation, more fun, more profits, and a much easier time recruiting.
Our biggest surprise has been the innovation. Everyone at JVM constantly steps forward with excellent ideas for improvements b/c they all want to help each other and the organization they love working for.
Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(925) 855-4491 | DRE# 01524255, NMLS# 335646
