Friends,

Today is the 6th and final RfL on the Fab 5 of Michigan companies selected by Fortune magazine as the "100 Best Companies to Work For."  Take a look at Rock Financial/Quicken Loans, the highest ranking financial institution and fastest growing company on the list.  Quicken is young, anti-bureaucratic, and people-focused.  They celebrated their 20th anniversary last year by bringing 5300 people - employees and guests - to a celebration in Cleveland, with entertainment that included the Black Eyed Peas and Kid Rock.  They have their own band, "The Loaners," which plays at company meetings.  Slushies and cappuccinos are available free, every day in their onsite "Soft Rock Cafe."  They make work fun.

Bill Emerson, CEO, says that their employee-friendly environment is both an end and a means.  His voice is full of excitement when he describes the thrill of watching employees grow and develop personally.  Making loans is great, he says; and growing is great, but "the fun part is seeing people grow as people" and advance at Quicken.  This focus on growth and development shows up in a statistic that is off the charts - even among the Fortune "best companies to work for" - as they provide over 200 hours of employee training per year.  Some of that is life-training, premised on the fact that people who are alive and growing will also be happier and more productive employees.  Emerson says this commitment to growth is at the core of their business success:  "We're retail and deal with clients every day, and the way employees feel will affect the way they treat our clients."

Quicken is intently focused on those clients.  CEO Emerson talks about how one of their slogans (they call them "Isms") is "every client, every time; no exceptions, no excuses."  All their efforts at empowerment are designed to give employees both the skills and the confidence to do whatever needs to be done to satisfy the client.  And, part of their success flows from their constant fight to not get bureaucratic.  They have grown to 3200 employees, but remain focused on encouraging each employee to innovate in the best interest of his client - no matter where he ranks in the company.  Emerson says, "imagine how great you could be if you have 6400 eyeballs" looking at everything in the business - acting like owners.  That's their goal.  So people have the authority to go out of their area to fix something if it's not working.  "Supervisors" (my word, as Emerson disdains the top-down connotations of it) have authority to give on-the-spot bonuses for great work.

What's at the heart of it all at Quicken?  "Our belief in empowering people to grow as individuals inside and outside the company," says Emerson.  And, so when asked, "OK and what if you're not working at a 100 best company, but at an average, fair or good company, what would you recommend?"  Emerson says, "It all comes down to the people you work with every day.  You have to create a connection with them."  If there is trust, then you can share the good news and the bad news; you can encourage risk; and you can learn when things don't go right.  Indeed, if you were to go over the prior weeks' columns, starting with Plante & Moran's culture of "care," to Valassis, Bronson Health, or Republic, you will find in all of them a passionate commitment to employees, and this commitment to the other is the baseline for TRUST.  Each culture does what great leaders can do - at work, in their families, churches, non-profits: earn their trust, by seeing people as people, committing to their growth, helping them set high goals, and working like crazy to help them achieve them.  Then - and all these cultures do it - CELEBRATE the achievements!

In that spirit of belief, trust, care, challenge and celebration, go out there this week and...

Lead with your best self!

Dan

Daniel Granholm Mulhern
First Gentleman
Office of the Governor
State of Michigan
(517) 241-0534

"Seeing the magnificence in all people -- dedicated to their fullest success."

Copyright 2006 Daniel Mulhern.  I distribute RFL without charge to people with an interest in leadership, and grant permission to these recipients to distribute copies of these works to personal contacts for non-commercial purposes only.  All other rights are reserved, and requests for copying and distribution of these works may be made to FirstGentleman@Michigan.gov.  The views of this and other RFLs reflect my personal beliefs and may or may not reflect the views of my wife, Jennifer Granholm, or any other officials of the State government. 
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