Page 284 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Dream, Believe, Dare, Do 265

When employees feel cherished, they are often more willing to take risks
without fear of repercussion. Pushing the limits at every level is expected
behavior at Men’s Wearhouse. As Eric Lane told us, “If everything in a store
is selling, you know people aren’t pushing the limits. They have tremendous
autonomy to try things out, and they may fail.” And when people fail at Men’s
Wearhouse, there is forgiveness, just as there is in a healthy marriage. They fix
it and move on.
When it comes to pushing the limits, George Zimmer is the supreme
role model at Men’s Wearhouse. Recently, George invited Deepak Chopra to
join the company’s board of directors. The Chopra philosophy is grounded
in holistic medicine that is intended to foster physical, emotional, and spiri-
tual wellness. Zimmer believes that Chopra is a natural fit with his company
mantra of people development, team-building, and community service.

Do

Richard Goldman, image maker at Men’s Wearhouse once said, “Early on,
George and I realized that whether you’re a sales associate from Boise, Idaho,
or the president of the company, we all come from families. So, we felt that if
we could create an atmosphere that sort of felt like family, we’d be successful.
For some people, the ‘business family’ takes the place of their family; for oth-
ers, it enhances their existing families. We knew that to make sure your cus-
tomers are treated right, we had to treat the people who work for the company
right”—athough with over 500 stores and nearly 8,000 employees, George
Zimmer isn’t as much of a hands-on leader these days. He makes every effort,
however, to see each employee in person once a year, and he continues to
provide the resources and experiences for them to grow and strive for “self-
actualization” (the final sentiment of Men’s Wearhouse mission statement).
For company managers and wardrobe consultants alike, one of the most
anticipated experiences of the year is summer training. In every company
region, a few people from each store don their shorts and tee shirts and head
for a resort where 24 hours of enrichment takes place, Men’s Wearhouse–
style. The intensive session is a combination of short training sessions, with
games and activities such as beach volleyball, dancing, and poker. “It’s like
Groundhog Day (the movie) for those of us who lead these sessions,” com-
ments Doug Ewert. “You start all over again four or five days in a row in a
region for six weeks. We will not cut these motivating training sessions . . .
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that will be the last stuff to go.”