Two Men and a Truck: The Grandma Rule
Have you ever looked at your company’s core values? I bet the word “integrity” appears somewhere on the list. If your company has been around for a while, the core values might be etched in white letters on a plexiglass block, left on someone’s forgotten shelf in a corner office. If your company is new, its mission and core values are probably on your website.
I see the word integrity a lot when working with clients. The protest is always the same: We have a lot of integrity and we want our employees and customers to know that. And my response is always the same: Does anyone ever think that they lack integrity? In other words, integrity is, too often, a concept that we take for granted in ourselves (though many are quick to spot a perceived lack of integrity in others).
Integrity is, of course, a wonderful thing, and it's a big reason for customers to come back for more. There’s a reason why integrity is a popular core value. For example, why would you pick Two Men and a Truck to transport everything you own, including your cherished heirlooms, to a new location? Because of integrity. 94 percent of customers, the company says, would recommend them to friends and family.
But is there a more imaginative way to get your employees to strive higher, and for your customers to see the unique way you deliver integrity that sets your company apart from the competition? Yes. In fact, we need look no further than Two Men and a Truck.
The same list that includes integrity also includes one of the best core values I’ve ever seen: The Grandma Rule:
This rule, inspired by our company's first grandma, Grandma Eb, means we treat everyone the way you would want your grandmother to be treated – with care and respect.
That is integrity.
Image of Grandma Eb is from the Two Men and a Truck website.
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Rita J King is the EVP for Business Development at Science House, a cathedral of the imagination in Manhattan focused on the art and science of doing business. She is a strategist who specializes in the development of collaborative culture by making organizational culture visible so it can be measured and transformed. She makes Mystery Jars, writes about the future for Fast Company and invents story architecture, characters and novel technologies for film and TV as a futurist for the Science and Entertainment Exchange. Follow @RitaJKing on Twitter.
Professional Matchmaker - Employers & Job Seekers | Career Specialist | Business Development | University Partnerships
9yBrad Bullock - you are so right on! Companies and individuals with true integrity lead by example, and actually mean what they say!
"True Greatness Consists In The Use Of A Powerful Understanding To Enlighten Oneself And Others" - Voltaire
9yAll too often, especially in company culture, Integrity is just a word spewed throughout mission statements etc. In many company cultures it has no meaning. It’s just a buzz word on a resume. Companies and people with integrity lead by example and as Anthony so eloquently explains do not need to etch it into anything or advertise it. If you posses it, it is “untouched” and “whole” – It doesn’t need to be pointed out.
Social Worker, Project Planner, Career Guidance Counselor
9yGolden rule:Treat others as you would like to be treated!
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Leading organizational success through strategic learning, talent development, and human capital initiatives. | Performance Management Pro | Master Trainer | Certified DiSC Facilitator | 80s Music Guru | Animal Lover |
9yGreat article and so flattered you wrote about it! The Grandma Rule is one everyone can identify with and I couldn't be more proud to be part of a company that doesn't just preach integrity; at Two Men and a Truck we live by it.