EntreLeadership - #85: Richard Sheridan—Building a Workplace People Love

Episode Date: December 1, 2014

Step aside, Pharrell. We’re talking with Richard Sheridan, best-selling author of Joy, Inc. and CEO of Menlo Innovations, one of the most unusual and culturally rich companies in America. Richard discusses how to bring joy into the workplace—and yes, get happy again. http://www.entreleadership.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charismatic, passionate, as integrity, humble, servant, faithful, inspiring, persevering, positive, flexible, driven. This is who we are that call ourselves leaders. Helping business leaders grow themselves, their team, and their profits. This is the Entree Leadership Podcast. Now, here is your host, Ken Coleman. Coming to you from the Music City, this is the podcast of leaders, by leaders, and for leaders, I'm Ken Coleman. Thrill to be with you. Coming up our feature conversation is with Richard Sheridan. Richard is the author of Joy, Inc. and CEO of Menlo Innovations, and we share an excerpt from the Dave

Ramsey Show on location at the Entree Leadership Master Series. And we pulled this because Dave did the show live here at our Entree Leadership Conference Center and Studios and focus the entire show on small business. And he shares a few minutes towards the end of the show that we thought was so good, and we know it's going to encourage your heart. So that's a special treat, and that is coming up. Hey, folks, as always, we want you to connect with us on Twitter at Entree Leadership at Ken Coleman. You can also email us, podcast at Entreeleadership.com. Thinking about this interview, I wanted to share something with you, folks, because I saw an article recently on Forbes.com from Steve Denning. He's a contributor, and the article is entitled How to Be Happy at Work. And in this article, he cites a study and an article that he recently saw.

Now, the article that he cites in his entry here on Forbes.com is by Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath. It was a New York Times article entitled Why You Hate Work. And here's the context. So Schwartz and Porath are managerial consultants. And so they partnered with Harvard Business Review to do a study on happiness at work, or in other words, why people aren't happy at work. And this is very interesting. The study came up with four main drivers of happiness.

Number one, physical needs. The physical opportunities to regularly renew and recharge. The second was recognition, the need to feel valued and appreciated for your contributions. The third was autonomy, the need to be able to focus in a sustained way and define where to work. And then finally, purpose,

the spiritual need to feel connected to some kind of higher purpose at work. Now, the survey found that the most important of these four, I don't think this will be any surprise to you leaders out there, the most important was purpose. Employees who derive meaning and significance from their work were more than three times as likely to stay with their organizations. Now, this was the highest single impact of any variable in the survey. That was a direct quote from the survey.

employees who derive meaning and significant from their work were more than three times as likely to stay. These employees also reported 1.7 times higher job satisfaction and were 1.4 times more engaged at work. Now, I don't think this is groundbreaking information. But I wanted to share it with you because when this book, Joy Inc. came across my desk and our producer Eric Anthony said, hey, what do you think of this book? I fell in love with the title. Joy, Inc. And the subtitle, How We Build a Workplace People Love.

And you're going to hear in this conversation with Richard that it's not just about making people happy with foosball tables and massage tables every once in a while. Although they certainly do work on the environment. But it is just as much about the outward work, the purpose, the passion to do something that matters. And can I just be very, very authentic here and just straight up? with you leaders out there? You can go to all the conferences you want to go to. You can hire trainers, buy books, and all those things are great and necessary. But if you as a leader don't figure out how to turn the pilot light of significance on and the people that you lead, you'll never fully see the impact of your organization because those people won't be fully functioning.

Every one of us is just a little boy or a little girl who came into this world with a desire to matter, a desire to be significant, to do something that matters. And we know that it doesn't have to be fame or fortune or power, but we can all do something that matters. And to the extent that within the mission of your organization, you can tie to their unique strengths, their unique passions, and they come to work every day feeling that what they do matters because what you do matters. That's the narrative. That's the story. So it's not about foosball tables and vacation packages. I would tell you that the two most important of those four,

excuse me, physical needs, recognition, autonomy, purpose. It's recognition. People need to feel valued and appreciated. But more importantly, they need to feel valued and appreciated because they know and you know that their work and your work matters. I'll wrap this thought up with a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, maybe one of the greatest American presidents, who once said that happiness lies in the joy of a chief.

and the thrill of creative effort. Don't ever forget that people need to experience, and you men and women, who are leaders, need to continually feel the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort, of creating something that matters. The book is Joy, Inc. How We Built a Workplace People Love.

Get out your notebooks. Get out your pens and pencils. I think you need to hear this conversation. Here it is Richard Sheridan. Well, Rich, it is a pleasure to have you with us, and I want to ask you to really set up the book, Joy, Inc. I was captured by something in the forward, and I think it tees you up to give us an overview as to why you wrote this book. In the Forward that was written, I guess, by a friend of yours, Carrie Patterson, who's the co-founder of Vital Smart. She says something on the first page of the forward that just off the page to me, and it says,

I told Rich it was time to take a stand for joy. and I love that. Talk to us about why you wrote this book. You know, 1971, and I thought, I was given a gift. I was given a gift of a passionate interest in an industry that was probably going to grow forever,

and I was right about that, but I found out very quickly had an interest journey to joy, and maybe even... Well, and I think so many people who hear this, they immediately grasp onto this. At some point when I started what I'm doing, it was really about doing what I love. And then the pressure of real-life business, you know, growing a company,

and dealing with people who are our employees and team members, sets in. And all of a sudden, you know, something that you love to do gets buried by reality. Did that happen at Menlo for you? Didn't happen at Menlo. Intriguingly, what had launched into this career. This is so powerful for folks to grasp because you were very intentional about culture and culture translating into the results that the business wanted. So I want to kind of dive into some of the things as you create Menlo.

You just, it's coming out of this answer. You just gave us. And so you set out to do something different. What were some of the intentional things, Rich, that you did very early on at the very maybe beginning that helped you develop a culture of journey? Yeah. We staves either because it doesn't ordinarily now we realize. Folks, Rich just hit it on the head with that last statement. It's about significance.

And leaders, you've got to keep that at the top of mind all the time. What's the significance of your team? How do they feel? Of your work, it's a big deal. I think you've really harnessed that, Rich. One of the things I want to talk about, you mentioned failure just as a part of the answer, and it triggers a part of the book that I think is so rich, and that is that you have intentionally, you and your leadership have created a culture where mistakes are embraced.

And that really creates tremendous freedom. I want you to talk about that. Yeah, well, I think what kills most comfort on planet Earth is this idea that's fear. I'm saying, hey, how's it going? What you work is to figure out who made the mistake and, you know, snuff it out. Let's say, yep, let's move on. Let's correct. One of the light bulb moments for me in reading through the book, Rich, chapter four.

I absolutely love it. The title of the chapter jumped off the page at me as well. It's entitled Conversations, Rituals, and Artifacts. And there's a statement at the top of the page, 67. And you wrote this, Rich. You said, rituals should reinforce cultural values. I think that's so fantastic. So with that statement kind of as the overarching summary here,

unpack conversations, rituals, and artifacts, and how those play out in the culture. So for our bureaucrac ceremonies, is our culture. Talk about interviewing people and hiring. And sometimes we just focused on getting the right people and we hope that our hiring process, you know, kind of works. But maybe we don't dive deep enough on it. And when you're as intentional rich as you guys seem to be at Menlo, I'm just curious if you would share with our leaders who are listening in today, some tried and true processes in your hiring process itself that has really worked to identify.

identify the right people. Yeah, I think hiring that was what... Boy, that is a statement. We simulate the way into the work. I want to ask you, Rich, if you could give us an example that pops to the top of your mind

when you put these interviewees, if you will, to the test of you've got to make the other person look good and get them a second interview. What does that look like? Give us an example of how they begin to try to manifest that.

Let's review the negative. People will succeed. You don't fail, right? You know, an interview process that you're encouraging people. You're giving them all the elements that they need to succeed. I tell you is, look, don't grab the pencil out of the other person. People totally ignore their pair partner. So those are the negative people.

The ones who dominate, the ones where somebody, I'd love to hear you, a little bit of humor. Here's Renee, who's a great memorandian. Before we let you go, Rich, I want you to address problems. Because when you see the name of a book as Joy, Inc., how we built a workplace people love. I mean, this is a positive book. I mean, there's just no question that this will encourage you, folks. But the reality is, is that we all are going to deal with problems. I love the quote at the beginning of chapter 15 that is entitled Problems. It's by Ari Wineswark. Am I saying that correct? All right. So, Wineswag. So I finally got that right. I'm hooked on phonics now. But I love the quote. It says, success means you get better problems, but there will always be problems. And, Rich, I just want you to speak to us with. the heart of an encourager through your experience to entrepreneurs who are listening right now,

leaders who are listening right now, followers who are listening right now, and they are in the midst of problems. Yeah. What would you say to them? This is the opportunity. Great advice, Rich. Really, really where we need to be and be constantly thinking about this important topic of joy in our personal and professional lives.

Thank you so much for challenging us in this book and for spending time with us today. I am so honored to have been... All right, we want to thank Richard Sheridan, and this is always exciting because we love to give away books that we care about. I mean, you should see Eric and I as we play in these podcasts. We're high-fiving, we feel like little Santa Claus's, because we love to give away books, and we want to thank the publisher on this, is always Portfolio, which is a penguin imprint.

They are giving away 20 books, and you know how we do it. You have to tweet the following phrase. Are we ready? At-on-Trey Leadership Podcast makes me happy. The at-on-Trey Leadership Podcast makes me happy. If you tweet that, you are injured to win one of the 20 books. Eric puts them in a big pot and he pulls out, 20 winners, and he'll make sure you get your book. So we're thankful for all of you for listening.

I think this conversation is just the tip of the iceberg. We want you to go get the book. Joy, Inc. is the title. How We Built a Workplace People Love. Well, folks are really excited to share this next little nugget. The Dave Ramsey Show, obviously, most of the time is focusing on helping people get out debt to plan for their future, to reset, if you will, their family trees. But every once in a while we get a special treat because Dave, as you know, is the operating

CEO of our company, over 430 employees. Oh, and by the way, he's also the host of the second largest radio show in the country. But Dave is a phenomenal leader. I've known him for a long time and now have the privilege to work with him. And so recently we had our Entree Leadership Master Series. And Dave turned the radio show on our last day of the Entree Leadership Master Series into a small business radio show. Eric Anthony, our fantastic producer, brought this clip to me and Blake Thompson, our executive producer, and he said, what do you think? And I got to tell you, when I heard the clip, it just fired my soul. So I think it'll do that for you as well. Dave is responding in this

clip to a caller who wants to know how to be a dream employee. Dave answers his question and then turns the focus on all of us. This is what Dave had to say. And in a sense, that's what these leaders have been doing with us here all week is learning how to not just be an average leader, a typical leader, not with the typical problems, and we're not dealing, and how do you deal with the typical problems and a non-typical, excellent, passion-filled owner, I care deeply about the income kind of way, where the vision is exposed, where things are moved and things are changed, because that's what creates business. And for those of you that are wandering around America, and you've watched too much television or you've believed politics for too long, business

is not evil. Business that matters, business that is done right, is a holy endeavor. Because those business people, those evil business people, they're the ones that give you a job. And when they give you a job, America, they allow you to feed your children. Those evil business capitalists, they're the ones that allow you to feed your children. That's how you got your house. It's how you're saving money for your college education because of those people dared to move a business from their living room or from their garage. They dared to rent a little space. They dared to walk out and print some business cards. They dared to walk out there in an over-regulated world, in an over-taxed world, and in the middle of that, try to survive and fight and claw and scratch

and serve in the marketplace. And because of them, you have a job. And you get to feed your family. So America, it's way past time for us to stop vilifying business people. Business should be considered one of the highest, most holy, most spiritual callings there is. Because you're going to walk into the marketplace, you're going to serve someone. and when you serve someone and they give you a certificate of appreciation with a president's face on it, you have done good. You have done good. And this idea that somebody making a profit is evil, I'm tired of this socialism message that is coming out of these college classrooms. I'm tired of it coming out of these political parties. I'm tired of it coming out of your left ears of some of your heads

because you don't have a freaking clue. The whole time you're doing that, you're eating food that was produced by a capitalist that hooked a plow behind a dadgum tractor and made some corn grow. And so it is time, America, for us to stop vilifying these business people. They are why this country is great.

As long as there are garages in America, there will be capitalism. Somebody's got an idea. there's a Bill Gates in his dorm room, there's a Michael Dell in his dorm room that's got an idea that'll change the world. Somewhere there's another Mary Kay and another Jenny Craig. Somewhere there's another Martha Stewart. They're all over the place. Are these perfect people? No, they're not perfect people. But they're doing more than some of you whiners. They're out there trying. They're out there doing stuff. They're out there moving things around. And they're putting up with a criticism of a

bunch of do-nothings. So it's time, America. It's time we stand up and salute the people I've spent the week with here. This land is great because it is the home of the free enterprise system. You don't like it. Go visit some other countries. You'll see how that crap doesn't work. Try to get served in some of these countries where there is no incentive. Try to get some quality goods or a quality place to stay in some of these countries. They don't know what they're doing. and you guys are all walking around acting like we got this thing broken. It's not broken. It's freaking working. This is no longer an experiment this thing called America. It's now a proven commodity. It's real. It's really happening. And you can stand up this morning and decide you're

going to be in business and instantaneously you are. Isn't freedom awesome? And if you serve poorly, your customers won't give you money and you're out of business. Isn't that awesome? I think it's awesome when people go out of business because they suck. Because I think it's just as awesome that when they do a great job, that they can live their dreams. And some of you get to work for them while they're living their dreams, and you cash their checks, and you get to live your dreams because of it, and have the highest standard of living on the planet that the world has ever known. So stop your freaking whining. Boy, oh boy, what a word from Dave Ramsey.

Always a privilege to hear from Dave. and we're grateful to him for allowing us to share that clip. Folks, listen, we want you to be a part of what we're doing here. We are so excited about the Entree Leadership community. Just came off the road for our fall events and meeting many of you out there. Thank you so much for saying hi. Spread the word. That's why we exist.

We want to encourage you men and women because we believe the economy rests on your very able shoulder. So I want to make sure you know about all access. If you've never checked it out, this is our coaching community. It's an incredible deal. You don't have to sign a contract. There's no risk. Go to Entreeleadership.com. Click on all access, check it out.

Also, I want to tell you about our brand new event called Entree Leadership Summit. Coming up next May, incredible John Maxwell, Pat Lynchione, Dr. Henry Cloud, Rabbi Daniel Lappin, Chris Hogan, Christy Wright, all joined Dave out in Southern California. Oh, my goodness, I get to host that event. It's going to be great fun. Entreeleadership.com slash summit. Entreleadership.com slash summit to learn more about it. It is already 75% sold. Hello, you better get there. It's

going to be an incredible day. And I want to say, as always, we really appreciate you folks. As again, we get out and meet you and we hear your stories, boy, we've talked all about enjoying your work. And I'm going to tell you something, being a part of this podcast is work that matters. So we want to thank you. On behalf of our producer Eric Anthony and the entire Entree leadership team, thank you for listening. We'll talk with you again very soon. Thank you.