給大家一個成長的理由
組織若想作業行動都聰明有效，就必先具備清楚明確的理念。企業領導人必須先指出方向，或營造休戚與共的氛圍，才能善加運用眾人的才能與技術，向前邁進。
| 打造與理想一致的企業內部文化 |
作為一個組織，你必須要有所主張，這很重要。如果工作夥伴不明白你的信念，他們就不能真正做出貢獻。釐清主張的另一個好處是可以幫你回絕脫離目標的想法。當你清楚釐清組織的理想，就容易拒絕方向錯誤的一些想法。
那麼，你要如何去打造一個與你的理想契合的文化呢？步驟如下：
1從揭示自己品牌的理想和實際運作開始──把實現理想完全融入你想做的每一件事，讓你的理想符合需要又鼓舞人心。
2無論是在公司內外發言，一定要表明自己的主張──每次都要清楚說明你的優先考慮、價值觀和指導原則。向你的客戶、供應商、經銷商或主管機關充分表達，並表明每位工作夥伴皆應奉行不渝。
3一定要設法讓你的組織獲勝──組成使命必達的工作方式，並以品牌的理想為中心打造必要的能力。
4組成適當的團隊──招聘合適的人才並以最好的獎勵留住他們。
5支持以品牌的理想為基礎的創新──表明你希望開發各類能把你帶往正確方向的創新產品和服務。不必設法挑出贏家，而是採取組合方法，投資數個不同的創新，然後針對可行的方案逐步擴大。
| 用社會責任製造冰淇淋 |
1990年，班傑瑞的營業額達到7,700萬美元，稅後淨利為260萬美元，同時也繼續擴大社會使命的目標，以下是他們嘗試的部分作法：
■主動尋找「另類的」製造商與供應商。班傑瑞向一家雇用流浪漢與長期失業者的麵包店購買布朗尼；向緬因州試著發展部落資源的帕薩馬科迪印地安人購買水果；向在雨林種巴西堅果與腰果，而不是砍樹販賣的印地安人進貨。
■班傑瑞把冰淇淋配方中的奧力歐餅乾換成別家的餅乾，因為不想和一家同時賣香菸的公司做生意。
■當牛奶價格在聯邦政府補貼計畫停止後下跌時，班傑瑞還是依照牛奶過去的長期價格，向佛蒙特州的農場以高價收購。
最令人驚訝的是，這些具有社會使命的計畫似乎一點都沒有對公司的生意帶來負面影響。1991年傑瑞和班的營業額再次成長了26%，達到9,700萬美元，淨利為370萬美元。1992年，營業額再次跳升36%，達到1億3,200萬美元，淨利為370萬美元。
| 沃爾瑪的宗旨 |
山姆．沃爾頓創立沃爾瑪的理念是：「每天用低價提供你所信賴的品牌，天天低價」，而他也讓沃爾瑪的營業額成長到數十億美元。但是後來，大家開始抨擊沃爾瑪，聲稱它傷害了讓它賴以生存的社區、工資低於平均水準，以及許許多多想加在沃爾瑪頭上的罪名。為了擺脫這種市場的負面印象，沃爾瑪的管理階層決定，要讓公司重新聚焦在那行之有年卻沒有宣揚的宗旨。
在花一些時間分析沃爾瑪之後，該公司扼要地闡釋了公司的宗旨：
沃爾瑪的宗旨是：幫大家省錢，讓大家過更好的生活。
隨後這個宗旨在公司上下生根、茁壯，而沃爾瑪也採取了許多作法，去實踐自己所提出的宗旨：
■沃爾瑪現在的廣告都會反映出它時時提供購物者低價商品所帶來的真正價值。這和競爭對手24小時營業或是掛羊頭賣狗肉的戰術大相逕庭。
■該公司收銀機打出來的每張發票，都會印上「省錢讓生活更美好」的字樣。
■沃爾瑪架設了www.savemoneylivebetter.com網站提供消費訊息。
■該公司大力加強在環保方面的努力，並且對據點所在的社區進行投資。沃爾瑪已經將旗下運貨車隊的油耗降低了15%，並且捨棄了不必要的包裝。
■沃爾瑪幫助員工減重、戒煙，以及其他有助於改善生活品質的事。
■沃爾瑪公開承諾，只和遵守高道德標準及環保標準的供應商合作。
| Build an Internal Culture That Aligns With Your Ideal |
It's vital that you stand for something as an organization. If people don't understand what you believe, they won't be able to contribute in a meaningful way. The other good point about clarity is it also helps you say no to those ideas which are off target. It's easy to reject ideas which would take you in the wrong direction when you have been clear and explicit about your organization's ideals.
So how do you go about building a culture which aligns closely with your ideal? The steps are:
1Start by revealing your brand ideal and operationalizing it-make delivering on that ideal an integral part of everything you're trying to do. This will keep your ideal both relevant and inspirational.
2Whenever you speak inside or outside the company, be clear about what you stand for -articulate your priorities, your values and your guiding principles all the time. Spread the word to your customers, your suppliers, your distributors and even any regulators you work with. Make it obvious everyone should act accordingly.
3Make certain you design your organization to win -organize the work that gets done and the capabilities you build around your brand ideal.
4Get your team right-recruit the right people and provide them with great incentives to stay involved.
5Champion innovations which are based on your brand ideal-make it clear you want to develop a mix of product and service innovations which will take you in the right direction. Rather than trying to pick winners, have a portfolio approach where you invest in a number of different innovations and then progressively expand on what works.
| Socially Responsible Ice Cream |
In 1990, Ben ＆ Jerry's achieved sales of $77 million, with an after-tax profit of $2.6 million. Around this time, the company also continued to expand on its social mission goals. Some initiatives Ben ＆ Jerry's tried included:
■Alternative producers and suppliers were sought actively. The company bought brownies from a bakery which was staffed by homeless and hardcore unemployable people, fruit from the Passamaquoddy indians in Maine who were trying to develop their tribal resources, and brazil nuts and cashews which had been grown in rain forests rather than cutting the trees down.
■Ben ＆ Jerry's replaced Oreo cookies in its recipes with other cookies because it didn't want to do business with a company which also sold cigarettes.
■When milk prices declined after federal support programs were eliminated, Ben ＆ Jerry's paid Vermont farmers a premium based on the long-term historical price of milk.
What was most surprising of all was that none of these social programs seemed to impact negatively on the company's business. 1991 sales for the company were up another 26 percent to $97 million, generating a profit of $3.7 million. In 1992, sales jumped another 36 percent to $132 million with profits of $6.7 million.
Sam Walton established Wal-Mart on the premise of: " Every day low prices on the brands you trust. Always" and grew it to have billions of dollars in sales. Eventually, however, people started demonizing Wal-Mart and claiming that it was hurting the communities in which it was established, paying below-average wages and whatever other ills one cared to heap on Wal-Mart's head. To escape this marketplace perception, the management at Wal-Mart decided to refocus the company on its long-standing but unspoken purpose.
After some time spent analyzing Wal-Mart, a concise statement of the company's purpose was articulated:
Wal-Mart's purpose is: Saving people money so they can live better.
That purpose statement has subsequently taken root and flourished throughout the company. Wal-Mart has done lots of things to fulfill its stated purpose:
■ Wal-Mart's advertising now reflects the ultimate value of the low prices Wal-Mart provides shoppers all day every day. This is in sharp contrast to competitors' 24-hour sales or bait-and-switch tactics.
■ The company prints "Save Money. Live Better." on every receipt that its cash registers generate.
■ Wal-Mart has set up an information Website at www.savemoney-livebetter.com.
■ The company has ramped up its environmental efforts and is investing in the communities where its stores are located. Wal-Mart has increased the fuel efficiency of its trucking fleet by 15 percent and eliminated unnecessary packaging.
■ Wal-Mart helps its employees lose weight, quit smoking and do other things that help them live better lives.
■ Wal-Mart has publicly committed to working only with suppliers that comply with high ethical and environmental standards.
推薦書單
NO.122 愈冷愈要吃的班傑瑞冰淇淋
Ben ＆ Jerry's: The Inside Scoop: How Two Real Guys Built a Business With a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor
by 佛瑞德．奇可．拉格（Fred "Chico" Lager）
中文版：《冰淇淋闖天下》（絲路，1995）
NO.325 頂尖企業的成功奧義──宗旨
It's What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business Is Driven by Purpose
by 羅伊．史賓斯（Roy Spence）
NO.432 理想是最好的生意
Grow: How Ideals Power Growth at the World's Greatest Companies
by 吉姆．斯坦格爾（Jim Stengel）
