A Balance of Success and Value

Finding your value in this world can be difficult. If you are lucky enough to find your passion and make a living out of it, then you face a deeper position. How do you create a successful business model while also keeping your values and integrities in tact?

Cultural norms would have that we are put here to be raised by a set of parents, attend schooling, earn a college degree or learn a trade, and work the rest of our lives following a path with predetermined ends. There is nothing wrong with this viewpoint, only that it is not the only viable option. The only problem with convention, is the lack of innovation. Chances are meant to be taken and opportunity is destined to be seized.

It may be difficult to find the perfect line between the long proven, tactic business models and newer unconventional ideas. But with a blend of proven, working methods and a deeper, meaningful connection with your employees you can achieve success. Much of the evidence leading to this generation’s push back in the workplace is due to a demand for respect and value of time for employees.

It is hard to allow your creativity to flow when you are subscribed to the same set of tasks each day, with someone hovering over your shoulder to see the uniform completion. Many find their work days to be unsuccessful and then work must follow them home at night. A fight for life balance can be difficult. It has been said that you can either work to live or live to work.

“We regularly share business information with our staff. The more we understand about the business the more productive we will be” – Ari Weinzweig

Think about when dinning out, the difference between an overworked angry employee and a happy well treated employee is unmistakable. The service can make or break the experience, a dedicated happy employee is more likely to hold history and knowledge of the business and deliver an all over better experience from company to client.

Ari Weinzweig, founding partner of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses speaks to the importance of investing in your employees. In his book titled, A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business, Weinzweig suggests starting at the core and following a “recipe” for buinsess success. His model starts by instilling value in employees and providing them the tools to succeed. The idea behind this, that when given the correct tools and respected, the work will be more efficient. Employees who are happy and feel respected work harder and smarter during the day. This allows for freedom in the evenings for family and forms of self-expression.

There are more business leaders each day becoming partners with the idea of employee value. Not only for the humanity and happiness of those who work for you, but also for a better, stronger, and more devoted business.

Zingerman & Weinzweig’s Recipe for Successful Business 

• Put together a mission statement
• Write a vision of greatness
• Create the culture we feel good about (and how to make it even better for the future)
• Write guiding principles (and really use them).
• Work hard to be kind to each other

Seems simple, right?

Isabel Maier

Creative Meetings Architect

Think Space, LLC