Thursday, October 29, 2009

Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow – A Great Read!

First of all, to those that have inquired as to when I was going to make another post on this blog – thanks for reading! I have been candid to any that have asked that I was consumed with ‘summer’. I played a lot of golf, vacationed, and moved my oldest daughter to Chicago to start law school and then my middle daughter back to Indiana University to begin her sophomore year. It was one of the nicest summers I can recall, which makes this post particularly appropriate.

Certainly it is bitter sweet as our children grow and move on with their lives. As parents, we spend so many years occupied with raising our children and then almost without warning, poof, they’re gone. It is an interesting exercise in change management and provides a great opportunity to assess our goals and develop a vision for the next stage of our lives. At least, that is what this time in my life represents for me.

Last spring, I read a book that really transformed my perspective from a number of points of view. Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow by Chip Conley. Chip Conley is a well known entrepreneur from the hospitality industry and the CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, operator of a group of very popular, eclectic, unique and extraordinary hotels primarily located in the San Francisco area.
The leader of CEO Project (www.ceoproject.com), Mark Helow, a friend and mentor of mine, introduced me to the book shortly after the onset of the Lehman Storm. The timing couldn’t have been better. Chip’s introspection that inspired the book began in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that rocked the economy with the travel industry serving as the epicenter. Anyone that managed through those turbulent waters is likely able to recall the stress and anxiety that accompanied the uncertain business climate. When the Lehman Storm erupted, the environment from a business perspective was eerie in its similarities, so it was easy to relate to the state of mind of the author.

Chip became enthralled with the writings of twentieth-century psychologist, Abraham Maslow, specifically his theories relating to the Hierarchy of Needs, self-actualization, and peak experiences. When I first started reading this book, I felt that I was intellectually WAAAAY over my head, but Chip was able to create such relevant and thought provoking dialogue that I later went back and read the book again.

The first thing I needed to understand was what on earth is ‘Self-Actualization’? I had a general understanding, but to my sensibilities, this was a multiple syllable, hyphenated phrase that had ‘egg head’ written all over it! Chip did a great job of defining ‘self-actualization’. As an example, Conley used the following quote as a descriptive definition of self-actualization: “A musician must make music, an artist must pain, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization….It refers to man’s desire for self-fulfillment, namely to the tendency for him to become actually in what he is potentially: to become everything one is capable of becoming.” I was able to understand this. Chip went on to provide very well written and diagrammed explanations of the Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid.

Conley uses examples from of how the Hierarchy of Needs applies to the workplace from his career full of experience of creating an environment of self-actualization for his team members. In the midst of reading this book, I learned that our company had been named one of Dayton’s ‘Great Places to Work’. While I considered this an honor, a ‘Peak’ moment, I questioned the recognition. We work very hard as an organization to provide an environment that is conducive to having our team members grow, develop, and achieve career goals in the support of our business needs. We invest significantly to create this environment with a true belief that we create strong returns from that investment. At the same time, I question that we have achieved ‘Great Place to Work’ status.

In a meeting with Bill Diederich, Lastar President, during which we were discussing the award and the upcoming celebration that would accompany the recognition I posed the question – ‘Great Place to Work – Really?’ I challenged Bill with the question; “Bill, are we really a great place to work?” While I appreciate the gesture that our team made by nominating the company and recognizing us a Great Place To Work, I feel that the designation was premature. We have a long way to go to be considered ‘Great Place To Work’.

What I was describing to Bill was an environment, a vision for our company that would provide a fertile environment of ‘self-actualization’ for our team members. We have done a great job of building the foundation, but in terms of the environment that Chip describes, we are far from being a ‘Great Place To Work’. Chip inspired me! While there are a number of ways that I self-actualize through our company, one of the greatest pursuits of organizational actualization will occur when we are recognized nationally as a ‘Great Place To Work’. That has become a long-term goal of mine for our company – not so much the recognition, but furthering the platform that we have developed to creating an environment where members of our team are able to self-actualize and reach their career and life goals. While we have been pursuing and investing in development and growth for a number of years, Peak has really helped me to define a deeper interpretation of what I am pursuing.

As our organization has grown and developed, we have realized that our focus on talent is increasingly critical. For us, it goes well beyond hiring great talent. It is about developing team members at all levels, helping people to develop to be ready to accept growing responsibilities. Creating that environment of development, reward, recognition and retention requires constant attention. Peak provides inspiration for creating that environment.

We all have life goals and different ways of thinking about those goals and developing road maps to achieving progress towards those goals. Chip Connelly’s Peak has helped me to crystallize ‘Peak Zones’. If you are interested in introspective inspiration, I suggest reading Peak!

3 comments:

  1. Mike, at my company we discuss Maslow's hierarchy of needs in relation to product development. Having a really new product accepted in a shorter time frame can be enhanced by solving a problem that addresses the lower levels of the hierachy - fear causes buying decisions if you can resolve it. But striving for an entire workforce to move towards self actualization is a whole different level. That will take pondering.
    David Gibson

    ReplyDelete
  2. good to see you are back - wonder if this could be applied to a group of women in a medical office?

    ReplyDelete
  3. “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization….It refers to man’s desire for self-fulfillment, namely to the tendency for him to become actually in what he is potentially: to become everything one is capable of becoming.” I was able to understand this.

    My office mates have yet to self-actualize their potential as village idiots.

    ReplyDelete