Author: Jack Nulty

One of my favorite movies is Remember The Titans staring Denzel Washington as coach Herman Boone. Very early in the movie things are going horribly wrong so coach Boone issues a challenge. It wasn’t received well, but they did it anyway to avoid more three-a-day practices & the threat of four-a-days. Who wouldn’t?!

Ultimately, Coach Boone’s challenge turns everything around which is why we Remember The Titans. (link to scene)

Accepting The Culture Strong Challenge will turn everything around for your business, and your people! Here is how it works:

Step 1: Commit to meeting a few minutes each week with each of your direct reports for the next 30 days. During your time together, work on getting to know something about each person: likes, dislikes, hobby, family;anything – it doesn’t matter! Then make a note of it after each meeting.

Step 2: After 30 days, ask each direct report who has a direct report of their own to do likewise for the next 30 days. All the while, you keep meeting with them but now turn the conversation toward what they are learning about their direct reports. Also, do something nice for your direct report based on one thing you learned about them in previous meetings. For example, ask about how it’s going with X, or bring them a favorite drink from X, or whatever.

Step 3: If your company has three levels or more, continue through every level.

Step 4: Chart your meetings. Compare the actual number of meetings held to the total number of meetings that should have been held. If your organization completes 80% or better, then let us know and your company will win a 2022 Culture Strong Company of The Year Award.

As a CEO it’s easy to look at the financial dashboard and realize that employees are commonly viewed as liabilities rather than assets. But is that right?

I’m thankful for organizations like the National Christian Foundation (NCF) which empower business owners to invest in things that matter most to them. In addition NCF spotlights key business owners worth emulating. One such person is Mark Canlis.

(click on) Mark Canlis interview. Mark is owner of Canlis, a restaurant which employs 120 people and carries a 4.7 star rating across 1,417 reviews and a price point of $$$$ in the pacific northwest. Marks view of employees is solid and worth of emulation.

“If you can get 100 people flourishing then your company is going to be just fine.” Mark Canlis

This morning I had the honor of catching up with Brent Stoltzfus, CEO of EG Stoltzfus, a large regional residential and commercial construction company based in Lancaster, PA. He is a trusted friend and adviser.

I called him for help with setting a reasonable bar for home builders when it comes to staff turnover. I explained to him that in my research I’d uncovered an average employee turnover rate for American businesses of 17.8%. I also noted a report I’d read regarding our home building industry’s employee turnover as much higher, with numbers between 20 – 38%.

I called him because his company is the strongest company I’m aware of when it comes to employee retention. I asked him what his employee turnover rate was, to which he replied, “I’m not sure.” So I said, ‘Well, how many employees do you have?’ “70.” ‘And how many did you replace last year?’ “One I think”. ‘I’m sorry, what?’ “I think we replaced one.” ‘Okay so your annual turnover rate is .7%, that’s ridiculous. Congratulations dude, you guys rock.’

Unfortunately .7% turnover rate is far from the norm in pretty much any business. But should it be?

So why the immediate interest in employee turnover rate? Well, it’s pretty simple. I recently conducted a Culture Strong audit of a home builder who I admire and respect greatly. During the audit we uncovered an organizational structure that fosters an environment of independence rather than corporate solidarity. This lack of solidarity negatively impacted net profits in 2019 by nearly $70K through employee replacement cost (ERC).

What does this mean for you? Take a home builder with 50 employees and apply an average turnover rate of 17.8% (this means he replaced 9 employees this past year). Now factor replacement costs of said employee. Next, set the average wage at say $35K thus resulting in an ERC of $7,350 per employee. Finally, multiply the number of employees turned over (9), by the ERC of ($7,350) and the result is a loss of $66,150.

If that number isn’t painful enough, consider the emotional impact of replacing one employee to the customer whose home they are managing, or the supplier whose work they are scheduling, or the colleague who’s left holding the bag. So what is the value of customer emotions?

Emotional impact is a very difficult factor to quantify. However, to give you an example, The Harvard Business Review (HBR) published a study called The Science of Customer Emotions which states that a customer who is emotionally connected to your business is 74% more valuable then one who is “Highly Satisfied”.

For everyone who aims for highly satisfied customers, guess what? You’re aiming at the wrong thing.

So what is the solution to painful employee turnover?

I’m reminded of what the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers Vince Lombardi told his team at the start of training camp in the summer of ’61. They had been beaten in the National Championship in a 4th quarter come-from-behind-victory of the Philadelphia Eagles!

I think most people would have focused on improving; taking their skills to the next level. But not coach Lombardi. Coach was thinking about the importance of mastering the basics. That is why at the beginning of spring training he held up the pig skin in his right hand and said, “Gentleman, this is a football.” 6 months later they won the National Championship 37-0 over the NY Giants.

Simply put, “make sales and manage margins” are the basics to winning in business, says my wise friend Brent Stoltzfus. Managing margins can be handled through a variety of methods. However the only method that will generate those clients referred to in the HBR study (the ones who are 74% more valuable to your business than those who are “highly satisfied”) are those built from a foundation of “cultura”.

The Latin root of the word culture is “cultura” and simple means, “to care”. Are you providing a platform in your business that empowers people to care? If not, you don’t have culture; and you will always have a hard time retaining employees and suppliers. Much worse, your customers will be talking about you to their friends and it likely won’t be nice.

One of my favorite people on the planet is Jeff Rutt, long time friend and founder of HOPE International. Several years ago I had the pleasure of staying with he and his wife Sue while I was in PA for work. If you know me, you also know that if I’m traveling in your area there’s a likelihood I might bum a room for the night instead of paying for a hotel.

While staying with Jeff, I gave him the nickname Batman because every morning he would rise before the rooster crows, go down into his basement, run on his treadmill and then do a bazillion push-ups. No really, this guy can do more push-ups then any man alive. Seriously. In my mind’s eye, I pictured Jeff’s basement like a bat cave and that’s when the nickname hit me. He’s been “Batman” ever since.

Two of my new most favorite people on the planet are Wayne and Brenda Corbridge. They build some of the most amazing homes that most anyone can afford, in one of the most amazing planned communities in the world; no kidding!

Anyway, beyond Jeff’s accomplishment of founding one of the greatest charities on the planet and Wayne & Brenda’s accomplishment of becoming one of America’s finest home builders, they have raised great children who have all become amazing adults!

One might ask how did they do it? It’s because they use the Culture Strong Planner! Okay, that was a lie but, hey, you can’t blame a guy for trying.

Back to how you can become Batman. Last week while staying with Wayne, Brenda, and their youngest, Katy, who happens to be: super smart, professional, single, and drop dead gorgeous; I thought, “Oh boy, I need to equip my new buddy Wayne with interview (aka interrogation) skills for all those young men who would like to throw their hat in the ring. So, I recommended he buy a baseball bat and write the rules for dating his daughter along the fat part of the bat. Then, when young men came to court her, he could sit down with them and read the top 10 rules for dating my daughter, therefore becoming know as the “Batman”.

Top 10 Rules for Dating My Daughter:

1. You will have have her home by 11:00 PM or before.

2. You will open every door for her.

3. You will seat her before you seat yourself.

4. You will not allow the waiter to receive your order before he receives hers.

5. You will not allow the waiter to bus the table before both of you are through eating.

6. You will not text or talk on your cell phone while driving or during the date unless there is an emergency.

7. You will obey all traffic laws.

8. You will not call her multiple times throughout the day or speak with her after 10:00 PM.

9. You will not take her to any inappropriate places or movies.

10. You will honor your father and mother as well as her mother and I.

Lastly, do you have any questions?

By the way, Jeff gave me a nickname too; he calls me “Ironman” but not for any physical super human traits. A few years back, we were traveling together and I noticed he was a horrible packer and all his shirts were wrinkled. I was like “really Jeff?” And he was like “What?” So I said, “Give’m to me” and I ironed them. Hence the name.

If you’re hiring consultants to advance your business, then great, but if you’re hiring them because you’re unsure about the Intel you’re receiving from C-level staff and others, then, “Houston we have a problem”.

At the core of inaccurate communication is FEAR. My friend John Johnson once said that fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. Through the years I’ve tested his theory and found it true. One of the wisest men to have ever lived outlined the solution to fear when he wrote:

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

1 John 4:18

So, what does driving out fear look like in the work place? I recently sat down with one of the most successful home builders in America who is also the founder of Kingdom at Work, Rick Betenbough. Rick is a pioneer in driving out fear in perfect love and he does it through weekly One-on-One meetings aka (10:10 meetings found in the Culture Strong Planner). I think that if you were to ask him what the most important meetings of the week are he would say, hands down, it’s our One-on-One meetings.

To successfully conduct 10:10 meetings, you will need to understand the “Why” behind such meetings. To my knowledge, no one gets the “why” better than Cal Zant, president of Betenbough Homes. Watch Cal Zant’s recent keynote at a Kingdom at Work workshop.

Fear is the wall that separates a leader from the truth!

The first thing most people do when receiving a new planner is add their appointments – which is totally fine. However, we would caution you to take a different approach, otherwise you might miss a major step toward what makes the Culture Strong Planner unique & empowering!

Step 1: Open your planner to the pages labeled: “What would your perfect week look like?” and “What would your perfect routine look like?” then begin thinking about what that week would look like if you had total control to schedule, prepare, and debrief every event. Also, think about all the things you do before your work day, as well as, after work ends. This is your routine. *** Scroll down to Step 2 before you start writing ***

Here is what my perfect work week currently looks like:

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Step 2: Turn back a few pages in you new Culture Strong Planner to a page labeled 20/20 Detail Sheet and begin to map your vision. Start by:

• Identifying the type of goal this is: “P” for personal, “W” for work, or “H” for habit. In this case your goal is both “P” and “W”.
• Secondly, identify the goal by giving it a #. For example if this is the first goal your detailing, then number it “1”.
• Third, skip the Major Milestones section until you complete the remainder of the form.
• Next, develop your vision statement. Follow our formula of: “Do X for Y by Z”.
• From there, work down the form section by section.
• Finally, move up to the top right corner of the form and list four Major Milestones.

You could just copy this example and go to town…

Step 3: Celebrate!

I believe the #1 Reason people keep their email open all day is because they don’t value who they are & what it takes to do their work well.

This is why, at Culture Strong, we ask you to detail your perfect work week & your perfect routine using the Culture Strong Planner. Doing this simple task will make it easy to uncover your value & what it takes to do your work well. It will also empower you to disconnect more often from unproductive habits, like email.

Funny story! My granddaughter is 12 going on 20. She doesn’t like boys yet, but I can see them on her horizon. So, I’ve taught her the perfect breakup line, “It’s not me, it’s you!”

A friend of mine came over to visit and I asked my granddaughter to try out her new line on him; she executed it perfectly! Afterwards she said she can’t wait to get a boyfriend so she can breakup with him. That’s my girl!

A strong culture will bring you the confidence to break up with unproductive habits. WooWho!

Scientists at Princeton University and UCLA, among others, reveal what they know about the benefits of writing versus typing. As for me, I’ve gone both ways in my career but I always seem to revert back to pen and paper. Why?

• I process the information better, thus understand “the why.”
• I’m less distracted by the ease of technology, thus more productive.

To learn more read blog by Suzie Frisce.

At Culture Strong Consulting we have designed our Culture Strong Planner to contain all you need to systematically gain the habits for a sustainable & strong culture through every level of your company.

Included are:

• 10:10 Meeting Log
• 10:10 Meeting Chart
• Turnover Report and Chart
• Vision 20/20 Goals Tracker
• Vision 20/20 Detail Sheets
• Vision 20/20 Chart
• Routine Development Detail Sheets
• Project Tracker
• Advanced Planner
• Daily Planner & Task Management Sheets
• Notes & Sketch Sheets

FYI: We love the FRIXION BALL 05 erasable ink pen by Piolet. It’s awesome!

Order your planner today!

If I’ve heard it once from the church I’ve heard it a thousand times.  “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

This fact remains; the people he was speaking to were in exile. It wasn’t a happy time, they were at fault, and they hadn’t learned their lesson yet.

So what is the lesson?  Most people live in the day rather than in who they are.  Stepping into who you are is invigorating and liberating for you and those around you.  Oh and it also brings about prosperity and a bright future.

A Culture Strong company takes the steps that lead them to prosper!

Goal #1 Lead your folks to a place where they want to be an open book, to be transparent.

Did you know that transparency is a product of confidence and courage.  Do you know the steps to take that will bring people to that place?  No sweat, that’s what we do at Culture Strong Consulting.

Hire us and we will empower you to walk your folks into the promise Land.  Clever right?

Calling us will bring you closer to being the next company we brag about!

One of my favorite movies clips is from Good Will Hunting. (Click the quote to view on YouTube) “Do you like apples? I got her number, how do you like them apples!” Take that Harvard boy! Sorry to my Harvard buddies.

And her number is?  Drum roll please, $15,750 gone each time you replace an employee making $75K. See article written by the Center for American Progress.  Feel free to do the math, just keep clear of any sharp objects. The equation is: Salary / 21% = Cost to replace employee.  However, you can throw that number out the window if the person you replaced was an executive or upper level manager. Yikes!

And the solution? Hire CULTURE Strong Consulting for a 1/10 of that and begin turning your balance sheet liabilities into assets! Everyone can do better except the guys that have real turnover problems, none of which have time to read this post. That’s why builders who hire us are going from good to great.

Become the next builder we brag about! email or call 214-425-1229