Doing (good) Business

Purpose. It’s another ubiquitous, overused word in the business world, and we’re picking it apart! What does it mean to have a purpose? What should your company’s purpose be? Is that like a mission statement? We’re helping you understand what this word really means, and why it’s important.

Stuff with a purpose (yeah, we’re corny!):

Honeywell story about avoiding doing layoffs

Workers value shared ethics in a company over money

Simon Sinek’s TED Talk: people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it

Last week we profiled a company who is truly Doing (good) Business - AWeber (check out episode 4 if you missed our great interview with Hope Bear, AWeber's Chief People Officer). But….how do you tell if other companies are doing good? Sure, you could ask the C-suite to be interviewed on this podcast, or you could listen to the tips and tricks we offer so that you can make an educated choice - whether you’re in job transition, or want to make a difference where you are.

Cool concepts that came up:
Bwork.com

Digging Deeper: How Purpose-Driven Enterprises Create Real Value  

Kelly & Lara are thrilled to welcome Hope Bear, the Chief People Officer of AWeber, an email marketing company that exemplifies Doing (good) Business. It’s one thing to talk about how thing should be done in business, and it’s quite another to have a company who really does them. AWeber is that company, and we’re giving you a peek inside!

AWeber is proud of some pretty cool things:

Turnover is 13%

Retention is really high – tech industry’s average is 18 months, they’re over 3 years

Engagement rate is in the high 70s, and hovers between 70% and 90% - they run internal NPS 3x/yr and apply to best places to work lists regularly

Sprint commitments are at 100%! This means that every 2 weeks, the teams are meeting commitments to improve the technology, which means customers’ businesses grow

***Vision for the future – looking at talent at the high school level***

***Engagement went up when they started recruiting for values***

***Pays full insurance for employee and family so that employee can focus on work***

***Most exciting thing right now – the company’s first affinity group called We at AWeber started by 6 women but is not only for women. It’s about coming together to discuss issues that impact each individual and welcome everyone to discuss how issues impact each person differently based on their experience, as well as how issues impact the community***

Kelly & Lara are getting real and talking about Fear. Think fear doesn’t show up in the business world? Think again! From personal fear and the inner critic to running a fear based business - we’re digging in to the F word that very few people like to acknowledge.

Cool concepts:

Self Efficacy

Money is no longer the biggest criteria for job seekers

Psychological Capital - Hope Efficacy Resiliency Optimism (HERO)
SOAR (The Thin Book)

You know those ubiquitous business lingo words that you hear all the time but no one really knows what they mean?  Yeah. So do we. In today’s episode, Kelly & Lara dissect Transparency. What does it mean? What should it mean, and how should it really be applied in business?

Cool folks and concepts we hit on include:

Radical Candor

Glennon Doyle (quote: write from the scar, not the wound)

Open Book Management

Brene Brown (quote: bring your whole self to work)

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Doing (good) Business! We’re starting, where else, at the beginning, which for most businesses is the bottom line. Meet your hosts, Kelly Stewart and Lara Heacock, and learn why to do (good) business, and what the heck we even mean!

Lots of cool people and concepts were mentioned:

Simon Sinek

Milton Friedman

John Elkington

The Quadruple Bottom Line

bCorporation.net