Sustainable Success Has A Pathway.
Here’s How GuideStar Finally Discovered It.
What constitutes a character-based business and how can you help your clients build one?
It was the question that nagged at Dr. Ray Benedetto. In 2009, he’d just entered a family-owned catering business to do research for his doctoral dissertation on what the owners claimed was a “character-based business.”
A character-based business? What did that phrase mean?
Nothing in literature or practice had clearly defined this up to that point, which drove Dr. Benedetto, as part of his doctoral dissertation, to research “The impact of character on business performance.”
During his qualitative research, Dr. Benedetto discovered four elements that run consistently through companies of all sizes and in diverse industries. These elements would become The Four Pillars of Character-Based Capitalism – the same principles you’ll be equipped to implement with your clients.
As time progressed, the study revealed results with broad-ranging implications that shaped the design, direction and content of a system for organizational transformation — the very same system we make available to consultants like you today at GuideStar.
Keys to Successful Cultural Transformation: The Four Pillars You’ll Implement
Capitalism is more effective when it is character-based because success depends on the quality of stakeholder relationships. But what kind of character are we talking about to achieve positive results?
Let’s look closer through the Four Pillars of Character-based Capitalism that set the foundation for sustainable performance excellence you’ll help your clients build.
Pillar 1: Shared Core Values
Core values capture the hearts of all employees and align behaviors for consistent performance.
As a consultant, you’ll guide leaders who use a values-based approach to create a positive culture through which employees achieve results (Grojean, Resick, Dickson, & Smith, 2004).
Pillar 2: Leaders at All Levels
Every person, regardless of position, can influence actions and decisions.
You’ll help your clients develop systems where employees at all levels are motivated to achieve, contribute, and learn more as the company grows. The company as a whole will enjoy higher levels of individual and team energy as well as greater creativity and innovation.
Pillar 3: Transcendent Organizational Purpose
This is the organization’s reason for being that goes well beyond making more money. It makes employees’ work more meaningful by feeling part of something greater than themselves.
Through your guidance, a transcendent organizational purpose sets the stage for higher employee satisfaction and loyalty, resulting in higher knowledge retention about the business, customers, and operating environment.
Pillar 4: Commitment to Performance Excellence
Continuously improving capabilities related to the three critical factors that generate higher innovation and productivity: Leadership, Knowledge, and Execution.
You’ll help your clients develop a commitment to higher innovation that leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty while driving growth, profitability, and sustainability. The company can enjoy lower costs and greater stakeholder efficiency with higher productivity.
In the 20+ years since the initial groundbreaking work done with that catering company, GuideStar’s system has evolved to help businesses beyond their expectations.