Scaling Up Business with Bill Gallagher 139: Brandon Miller — Build a Thriving Values-Based Business
When scaling up a company, finding the right people is the hardest part. We love to work with people based on their strengths, and find ways to align this with the overall company culture. Today’s show focuses on the deep work necessary to develop a thriving values-based business.
Brandon Miller is the co-founder and CEO of 34 Strong, an employee engagement firm that helps build great workplaces. Brandon and his team leverage the Gallup StrengthsFinder tool to help identify and maximize employee strengths.
Brandon’s ultimate career choice as a young child was to become a teacher and a football coach. However, that changed at 22 years-old and he became a young pastor instead. He served 2,500 congregants at his church and was in an executive role, where he managed 28 staff members. He wanted to improve his workforce by building a strengths-based culture around it.
When it comes to values, it’s important for leaders to be clear on what the core values for their organization are. Studies show that people have retention for no more than four values in their lives. Therefore, looking at a list of values and picking off all the ones you like might seem great in theory, but it rarely pans out in practice. People need to know what each value means and how it can be carried out in the team.
Cultures are built, and they cannot be bought. Culture, at its core, starts with leadership. It has to be something where the leader can be an example. In order to create a successful culture, it has to pass the ‘Three M Test’. You’ve got to be able to Message it, it’s got to be a Model, and it has to be Mirrored back to you.
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