Sports Insight

4 • Sports Insight ~ November/December 2017 sportsinsightmag.com Lunch Time TIME OUT | MARK SULLIVAN I had the pleasure of spending time recently with Walter Robb, the former CEO of Whole Foods, who spoke at The Running Event in Austin. We covered a range of topics, but the one that stuck with me was "company culture." I have always thought of culture as an internal factor, something that was powerful inside the four walls of an organization and shaped the way it conducted business. My conversation with Robb changed my thinking on that. "Culture is the spirit you create inside your company that affects your employees and customer," Robb told me. "Your customers are very conscious of your culture and can feel when it's right and when it's off." Of course, the more I thought about it, the more I realized Robb was right. Think about the companies you deal with that have a strong culture, good or bad. Airlines are a good example of bad culture in today's business world. When I fly now I feel sorry for everyone — the passengers and the crew. It seems to me that most airlines are misery factories. The employees feel exploited by the employers and the passengers are not treated as valued customers. We're treated as annoying baggage that needs to comply with a growing list of requirements. We can't carry on bags, we can't have an extra bag of nuts and we can't have legroom without paying for it. On the contrary, when you walk into a business where employees feel appreciated, they are smiling, polite and happy to go to any length to satisfy you. They project a great spirit that makes you want to do business with them. They are successful and having fun and make you want to be a part of it. Airlines are an easy target today, so I'll balance my negative comments with a good story. When Jet Blue first started out, a friend of mine flew to Florida and as he retrieved his checked luggage from the baggage carousel an employee handed him his bag and thanked him for his business. Turned out it was the CEO. The guy was on the front lines dealing with customers and no doubt was inspiring his employees in the process. There is a trendy business axiom that says, "Culture eats strategy for lunch," meaning if your organization is working together and everyone is on the same page, your company will be successful. If you have a great plan, ample resources and a toxic culture, you're likely going down in flames. It will be interesting to see how Whole Foods' culture assimilates into Amazon after its acquisition earlier this year. It matches two very successful organizations with vastly different cultures. It's Austin granola meets the drone-flying, algorithm-loving tech whizzes from Seattle. I can't wait to see whose lunch gets eaten. O When you walk into a business where employees feel appreciated, they are smiling, polite and happy to go to any length to satisfy you.

• Cover