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If You Want a Great Job, Interview companies With Good VIBES.

11/17/2014

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Have you ever noticed how some businesses just wrap themselves around you and make you feel welcome, whether you’re a customer or a new graduate looking for a job?

I have found after many years consulting to businesses of all sizes (about communicating their culture and competitive advantage) that you can walk onto a sale floor, into a company headquarters or manufacturing plant and know immediately which organizations “click” and which do not.  The businesses that connect have good vibes.  There’s positive energy.  Their leadership is genuine, sometimes even inspired.  The people are real.  They’re not just plodding along toward quitting time.  They’re into what they’re doing -- and believe in it.  The organization shares a clear purpose and vision that are not just words on some poster hung in the break room.

My son-in-law works for REI, a national retailer of recreational equipment, clothing, footwear and other attractive, well-chosen merchandise targeted to the outdoorsy crowd.  He is enthusiastic about the company, which is organized as a consumer cooperative in which members get a dividend check every year for around 10% of a generous array of eligible merchandise purchased during that year, after paying a one-time $20 membership fee (you don’t have to join to shop there).  The more members buy at REI, the better the deal – it’s built-in.  REI also offers its members occasional deals that seem unusually attractive, in addition to store-wide sales that really are sales and not just come-ons.  

The point here is that REI has both a purpose (to make the outdoor life available to more people at a good price) and values (which seem to be that people matter and the environment matters).  The company uses words like approachable, collaborative, casual and playful to describe the work experience.  Everybody with more than 20 hours a week gets health care.  My son-in-law (who’s in retail management in an Atlanta-area REI store) says that the people who ultimately “stick” with the company buy into the REI experience (not to mention their generous performance incentives and retirement plan).  They may have come in just looking for a job but end up finding a passion for work that knits comfortably into the fabric of their lives and helps assure a secure future for them and their families.

The point here is not to suggest going to work at REI, although this perennial placeholder toward the top of Fortune magazine’s Top 100 Best Companies to Work For would be a great choice.  You may find something just as rewarding in some other retail setting, in a small manufacturing plant or even a big company.  I have seen what, just for this article, might be called the “REI Effect” in all kinds of workplaces where business leadership and employees are in-synch and often unusually productive.  They know what their purpose is, how their customers benefit, where they are going, and “what’s-in-it-for-me”, which could be just as true for a non-profit -- such as a school – as for a commercial enterprise. 

So, if your goal is to find a work experience like the one exemplified by REI, try “getting a job” using a more differentiated strategy.  Check the place out if it’s a retail store.  Watch how the “team” works.  Ask challenging questions about the merchandise and see if they rise to the occasion – even if it’s almost closing time.   Ask people how they like working there.   If you want to work for ABC Corporation or XYZ Manufacturing but can’t get immediate access, vigorously research them online.  Talk to people who already work there; figure out where they go for lunch or to chat after work.  Then request an interview with a company manager you’ve targeted (by name) before you even apply for the job.  If HR gives you the stiff-arm, try calling the person directly and leave a message that inspires them to call you back.  Let them know that you're interviewing them (and others).  Talk to that manager about opportunities at the company, get other inside introductions and take a tour. If you want a sales position, ferret out some of the company’s customers and talk to them.  This approach should pay off, whether you’re just out of school looking for your first position or a work veteran who has been “right-sized” out of a job (maybe especially so if you’re that person because you can more readily perceive what you want to see and don’t want to see).

It’s also instructive to remember that the world does not owe you a job.   But you do owe yourself a good job.   You are no mere commodity, and you’re not seeking commodity-like work.  You have value, knowledge, experience and intelligence to add to the employer’s collective purpose -- and to their customers’ satisfaction.  And you have every right to enjoy your work.

Look for that “REI Effect”, perhaps in one of the other 99 companies on Fortune’s Top 100 list.   And don’t be satisfied with less.  Because you’re worth it.

TakeAway:  A job infused with passion and purpose pays big dividends.  Use a differentiated job search strategy to find one.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner


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The Customer is Culture at this Successful Company.

11/10/2014

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Bob Tiffin gets up every morning a happy man.  After early meetings with his management team, the genial founder and CEO of Tiffin Motorhomes takes to his office, phone to ear, eager to speak with his customers. 

He knows he’ll get the calls, first because he invites them.  And second, because motorhomes are complex products and they need service from time to time.  An array of different systems must work as one to keep 30-48 thousand pounds of vehicle, 100-150 gallons of diesel fuel, 90 gallons of fresh water, 100+ gallons of waste water, plus cabinets, furniture and personal belongings (not to mention driver and passengers) rolling down the road. 

“A motorhome, first of all, is a home,” Tiffin points out. “It has everything a home has, but on wheels.  It also has hydraulics and a diesel engine – like a backhoe.”  Not to mention the finest TV and electronics packages available.  Plus a fine kitchen, an air conditioning system and two electrical systems, including a generator.  And it all has to operate properly at sea level or at 11-thousand feet and accommodate a variety of climate and road conditions.  From chassis to engine to handcrafted cabinetry to exceptional fit and finish, the company’s quality standard is high, whether an owner vacation travels or lives full time in their motorhome.  

“Our customer sets the standard,” says Tiffin.  “The customer is the culture of our company.  We think about them when we design our products.  We think of them every minute of every day and do everything we can to help them.  We have 200 employees in our service department.  Fourteen techs each take 30-40 calls a day.  And CoachNet takes the calls after hours and on weekends.” (CoachNet is a leading provider of 24/7 technical and emergency roadside assistance for motorized and towable RVs with a network of more than 40,000 service providers throughout the U.S. and Canada.)

“My three sons work with me in the business, and we meet every day with our engineers to go over each problem we got a call about the day before,” notes Tiffin.  Many of the fixes to those problems find their way into the company’s six Class A motorhome lines, which range from Allegro Breeze, the smallest rear engine diesel coach on the market, to the lavish Zephyr, “45 feet of sumptuous grandeur loaded with more features than we’ve ever put into a motorhome,” including a residential style fridge, two bathrooms and a stacked washer / dryer combo.  

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Image © by Brian E. Faulkner
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http://tiffinmotorhomes.com/
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Image © by Brian E. Faulkner
Bob Tiffin’s customer service passion is rooted in values instilled in him by his father, Alex Tiffin, whom Bob watched do business in the family lumberyard and general store in rural northwest Alabama from the time he was a little boy:
Build it well.  Make it better.  Back it with good service. Treat customers the way they    would want to be treated.  And always answer the phone.
These days, if Bob Tiffin isn’t in his office taking with a customer on the telephone, he’s more than likely talking to a customer in-person, at the Tiffin plant in Red Bay or on the road somewhere.

“If you can’t look your customers in the eye, you can’t do business with them,” Tiffin believes, a maxim that goes back to the Tiffin Supply Company days and has stuck with them since the family acquired and developed a motorhome manufacturing business after one of their customers went bust forty-odd years ago. 

The product may be more sophisticated these days, but Tiffin’s attention to the basics remains the same – in fact, it’s at the nexus of quality and service that Tiffin Motorhomes really shines.  The company is known not only for meticulous attention to design and manufacturing but also for Bob Tiffin and his legendary customer service, all of which combine to set Tiffin apart in a business where the competition isn’t shy about contending for market share.

“There used to be something like 100 motorhome manufacturers,” Tiffin says.  We’ve survived four major economic meltdowns since we started in business, and now there are only 6-7 manufacturers left.”  Which says a lot about his company’s products and the people who build and service them.

Just ask a Tiffin owner.

“Our customers talk about us around the campfire,” he points out. “We want them to say that we try our best to help if there’s a problem.  We don’t sugarcoat the fact that motorhomes can be challenging.   If there’s an issue, we ask our customers to call us, contact one of our 85 dealers, or drive to the factory.  Ninety-nine percent of the time, we’ll fix whatever needs to be fixed.  Because it’s our name that’s on their motorhomes.”   

Bob Tiffin gets it.  He gets it that the promise of quality begins on day one of the manufacturing process, continues through sale and delivery (by a limited number of carefully chosen Tiffin dealers) and extends through the entire ownership experience.  His team gets it too, understands that integrity is the foundation stone on which their current and future business success rests.  The promise Bob makes to Tiffin owners, the promises his sons make, and the promise that every associate in the Tiffin family makes is part of each motorhome that heads up the road from Red Bay.

“Customers invest from $100,000 to more than $500,000 in their motorhomes,” the founder says.  “Sometimes that’s their whole life’s savings.  And keeping them happy is our job” -- a Marketable Truth© deeply embedded in Tiffin’s long-time tagline:

“Where You Go, We Go!”

TakeAway:  Live your integrity.  A reputation for excellence will follow, and your customers will brag on you.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner      Marketable Truth
© by Brian E. Faulkner   

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New Whole Foods Tagline Nails It!

11/3/2014

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PictureImage © by Brian E. Faulkner
Two words at the bottom of our Whole Foods sales receipt caught my eye yesterday:

            VALUES MATTER.

“What’s up with this?” we asked the nearest WFM team member.

“You know, values – the things people believe.  They matter.  That’s what Whole Foods is all about.”

Of course.  Whole Foods Market has hung its mostly organic hat on that for years.  A tilt toward unadulterated, un-manufactured foods has been their stock in trade ever since John Mackey and his wife started their first store in 1978.  Company “values” still encompass trust and the greater good … and attract a refreshing variety of both staff and customers.

But these days, Whole Foods Market® is far from alone in offering organic fare.  Even the most mundane mainstream grocer now carries some organics, and the leaders among them have gone in heavy for it – even Walmart, for heaven’s sake!   Not to mention a plethora of “natural foods” competitors out there who would like to eat WFM’s lunch. 

So Whole Foods needs a way to stand out … again.

That very evening, the first Whole Foods TV ad we’d ever seen popped into our living room (which either means we’ve missed ‘em when they’ve run before or they’ve just starting running in our area).  The spot talked about how values matter, profiled a family-owned farm and touched on organics’ companion differentiator, local providers – another difference that’s becoming less different these days as mainstream grocery marketers climb on the “local” bandwagon.

“America’s Healthiest Grocery Store,” declared the tagline at the end of the spot, nailing down in only four words what America has been saying about Whole Foods for a long time.  Witness this quote from Health Magazine in 2008, which asked a group of health experts to pick the Top 10 healthiest grocery stores (Whole Foods was #1):

“Whole Foods has the whole package -- from an extraordinary selection of fresh conventional and organic fruit and vegetables to delicious prepared foods with healthy ingredients and clear labeling. Whole Foods puts a premium on products that are grown or produced locally (read: super fresh).”

The Whole Foods tagline is a home-run.  It includes all “10 qualities of an effective tagline”— at least as I’ve perceived them over the years.

  1.  Simple – uses as few words as possible.
  2.  Direct – makes a strong, unambiguous declaration-
  3.  Compelling – connects to both head and heart.      
  4.  Authentic – grounded in Marketable Truth©.  
  5.  Strategic – sets your brand apart.
  6.  Personal – talks about customer wants and needs.
  7.  Meaningful – expresses tangible benefits.   
  8.  Visual – attracts eye and ear.
  9.  Memorable – sticks in the mind.
10.  Enduring – works as long as the truth lasts.

I’d like to think that the new Whole Foods “tagline” is a keeper.  Could be a test.  Or just an ad campaign theme. 

But based on this short presentation on Whole Foods' web site (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values-matter), I’d say America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” is a keeper.  They simply may be sneaking it in under the “Values Matter” banner. 

It should be a keeper, because it tells the truth … and tells it well.

Content © by Brian E. Faulkner      Marketable Truth © by Brian E. Faulkner

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    sample blog:

    This is a sample blog  for writer Brian E. Faulkner.   It presents stories about brands that do a good job communicating competitive advantage. Stories have been gleaned from the business press, personal experience and occasional interviews. Updates are made from time to time, and every so often there will be a post of general interest -- about things like success, passion, social trends, etc. 

    Author

    Brian Faulkner is a writer and strategic communication consultant who helps business clients explain their competitive advantage in compelling and enduring ways.
     
    He also is a five-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer & narrator for a highly-rated and well-loved magazine series.

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