Page 37 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Introduction

We all know unglamorous jobs exist in any profes-
sion. Even so, the successful completion of the work

is largely the result of our mental approach to the task.
Cultures focused on people unleash the imagination
and lift performance to new heights—to a higher pur-

pose. Max De Pree, the gifted CEO emeritus of Her-
man Miller, put it this way: “The future can be
created, not simply experienced or endured.” In the
right kind of culture, De Pree’s statement is true.
Therefore, this is a book about changing the future

of organizations and the people they serve. I believe
God created human beings to serve, and since organi-
13
zations are composed of human beings, they should be =

service-oriented. When you create an enterprise to serve
others’ needs first (the equivalent of subscribing to a
higher purpose), great things happen for all involved.
Contrary to popular belief, organizations can have a
culture-driven, people-centered philosophy and still

deliver superior performance. Consider this: an invest-
ment in creating the right kind of culture delivers big
returns. A study conducted by Deloitte Consulting

tracked the shareholder returns of the 56 publicly traded
firms on Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to
Work For list in 2006. The facts revealed that those firms
consistently outperformed the S&P 500. Genentech, one