Welcome to
“Growing Leaders from Within”
Presenters: Larry O’Toole, President, Gentle Giant
Don Kemper, CEO, Healthwise
Moderator: Diane Stoneman, Director of Consulting & Training,
Winning Workplaces
© 2008 Winning Workplaces. May not be reproduced or distributed
without expressed written permission of Winning Workplaces.
Founded in 2001 by co-owners of Fel-Pro, an
auto manufacturer nationally recognized as a
leader for progressive workplace practices
Nonprofit committed to helping small/midsize
organizations build healthy, innovative and
productive work environments
Triple bottom line: Business, People, Community
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Top Small Workplaces
In collaboration with The Wall Street Journal
2007 Winners profiled on WSJ.com/Entrepreneur
2007 TSW Report available @ www.WinningWorkplaces.org
2008 webinar series featuring 2007 TSW winners
2008 Top Small Workplaces nomination process underway
Upcoming October 14 & 15 conference
2007 Winners
Alaska Wildland Adventures
Barclay Water Management
Corporate Ink
Cowden Associates Inc.
Exactech, Inc.
FRCH Design Worldwide
Gentle Giant Moving Co.
Guerra DeBerry Coody
Healthwise
NRG Systems, Inc.
Phelps County Bank
Point B Solutions Group, LLP
Reflexite Corporation
Restek Corporation
Summit Aviation
Growing Leaders From Within
Today’s Agenda
The story of two companies
Programs and practices
Impact on their business
Lessons learned
Questions from audience
Leadership Void
"I am completely convinced that most organizations
today lack the leadership they need. And the shortfall
is often large. I'm not talking about a deficit of 10
percent, but of 200 percent, 400 percent or more, in
positions up and down the hierarchy."
What Leaders Really Do
John P. Kotter
Strategic Imperative:
Developing Front Line leadership
Front line supervisors – not senior
management – are the real opinion
leaders in your organization.
“Reaching and Changing Frontline Employees”
TJ Larkin & Sandar Larkin
HBR article, 1996
Featured Business Leaders
Larry O’Toole, President
Gentle Giant Moving Company
Don Kemper, CEO
Healthwise
A Tale of Two Firms
Gentle Giant Moving Company
Healthwise
Founded in 1980, officially
incorporated in 1985
Founded in 1975
Full service moving & storage,
Somerville, MA
246 employees
Top Small Workplace Winner 2007
Health information provider,
Boise, ID
215 employees
Top Small Workplace Winner 2007
Gentle Giant Moving Company
15 locations in 6 states
Full service: residential, local,
interstate, international,
storage, supplies, restoration,
senior service, etc.
Redefine moving industry by
creating “customers for life”
through excellent service
delivered by employees who
are highly satisfied and
motivated by growth potential
and one another
Programs & Practices
Overarching philosophy
Focus on building open
relationships & self-awareness
among employees, fostering
customer connections & loyalty
Building relationships
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Formal Training
Mgmt Practices (Annual Survey)
Annual Manager/Staff Discussions
Informal Interactions
Company Culture and Traditions
Recruiting & Hiring
Hire for cultural fit & aptitude,
not experience
 New hires motivated, interested
in self-improvement, thrive on
solving problems & challenges,
and exhibit similar core values
 “Giant HEART” core attributes
Giant HEART Attributes
Honesty
 Focus on cultural fit: GG has
cohesive & diverse population
Enthusiasm
Above & Beyond
Respect
Teamwork
Training & Development
Gentle Giant as creator of leaders and place to achieve personal growth
Mgmt / leadership training focus on communication: giving and receiving
feedback, active listening, self awareness, having difficult conversations,
and leading teams
Training on core moving skills regimented and structured, 40 training
sessions guide development from Entry Level Mover - Master Crew Chief
Comprehensive employee development: formal programs + informal
practices + company traditions
Training & Development
Formal Training
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101 orientation (history, culture, values, customer expectations)
“Stadium Run” tests endurance and approach to challenges in new hires
“40 modules” shares fundamental challenges encountered on a move
Monthly professional training delivered to 70% of our staff
Personal coaching
Informal Practices & Other Initiatives
 ‘Management by walking around’
 Daily lunch with staff
 Company sponsored after-work gatherings at local pubs
 Involvement in the Boston Marathon, rowing competitions, softball leagues, etc
 Giant Steps – Structured feedback from employees to their manager
 Annual Employee Survey
 Communication Practices – Monthly Management Update & internal newsletter
Decision Making
Business choices depend on what
creates greatest opportunity
 Explore opportunities that motivate
employee & lead to growth potential
 Strategy not entirely dependent upon
external factors or market forces
 Success defined in support of
mission & degree of enhancement to
employee experience, not just profit
Day-to-day decisions pushed down
 Each employee represents the whole
 Staff encouraged to solve problems
 Everyone accountable for creating
customers for life
Evidence of Success
80% of business generated
through repeat customers
and word-of-mouth referrals
Employee retention rate
highest in industry
Due to development
opportunities, strong culture,
track record of success &
recognition awards
Evidence of Success
Business growth 10% to
20% avg. annual; almost
$30 million through 15
locations across all
services
Larry O’Toole accepts his 2007 Top
Small Workplace Award at our
conference in October 2007
10 years ago - roughly 125
staff during busiest days of
year; now have 400
Growth Challenges
Maintaining company culture
Hiring energized, enthusiastic staff
Ensure staff feel they are an
important part of something special
Maintaining quality
Communicating effectively to offices
Brand awareness in new markets
Cost effective standards & processes
for opening new locations
Ensure as much fun in next 10 years
as had in past 10
Tips & Lessons Learned
Walk the talk – Customer service
and hard work define us. We are
passionate about customer
satisfaction and go to extremes to
resolve unhappy customer situations.
Protect Core Values – The Giant
HEART represents non-negotiable
values and behaviors in workplace.
Set clear expectations of how you
expect staff to behave and treat one
another. We nurture our core values,
not impose them.
Praise Accountability – Praise
those who admit mistakes and own
problems. Building open and
accountable culture inspires great
relationships and results.
Tips & Lessons Learned
Work on Relationships –
Identify and resolve any
problematic interpersonal
relationships among staff vs.
letting issues fester
Reward Initiative – We pay
well. Raises given after
someone takes on greater
responsibilities. Shows they
can do the job and want to do
the work. Ensures people
motivated by right priorities.
Healthwise
Mission: Help people make better health decisions
Because of Healthwise, people will:
Do more for themselves
Ask for the health care they need
Say no to the health care they don’t need
Growing Leaders from within:
Not-for-profit
• Lead from every position
Founded: 1975
• Lead in the Healthwise Way.
The Healthwise Way
15 competencies that make us special
The Servant Leader
Servant Leadership is a practical philosophy for people who
choose to serve first, and then lead
Serve the team
 Resources they need
 Authority they need
 Recognition they need
Grow the team
 Coaching
 Mentoring
 Training
As opposed to commanding
the team
Serving and Leading Your Teams
Three Types of Innovation
Continuous
Improvement
Sharpen the Saw
Quantum Jump
Improvements
Buy a Power Saw
Paradigm Shift
Improvements
The Laser Saw
Culture and Stories
These are only words until you have the stories to back them up
The Healthwise Culture
Respect
Teamwork
Do-the-Right
Thing
Questions???
www.gentlegiant.com
www.healthwise.org
Upcoming 2008 Webinars
Featuring 2007 Top Small Workplace Leaders
April 23 • Developing a Fantastic Customer Service Culture
In partnership with SJF Advisory Services
Mike Faith, CEO, Headsets.com, San Francisco, CA
Mark Wilson, CEO, Ryla Teleservices, Kennesaw, GA
May 21 • Building an Ownership Mentality Among Employees
Mike Foley, CEO, Reflexite Corporation, Avon, CT
Bill Marshall, CEO, Phelps County Bank, Rolla, MO
June 25 • Designing Strategy from the Bottom Up
Amy Bermar President, Corporate Ink, Newton, MA
Bill Petty, CEO, Exactech, Gainesville, FL
Thank You
www.winningworkplaces.org