Happiness In the Walls
I want to share with you something beautiful. It is a story about business and most importantly it is a story about how creating a culture based on shared values and vision created unprecedented success for an IT business in Sweden.
My friend and mentor, Jan Mattson was the founder and owner of this particular business. Jan is a philosophical and inspirational leader and he sought to instil in his employees a commonality of purpose and shared values from the very beginning. One of the ways he did this was through the communication of a strong vision for what the business stood for, how it would operate, how it would grow and develop and most importantly how its stakeholders (including the employees) would be treated. Jan set out his vision graphically in the form of a mind map full of colour and powerful images. This vision was so powerful that when his sales team went out to meet clients they asked for copies so that they could share that with everyone they met. It turned into a powerful relationship builder. Eventually Jan had the vision made into a mural on one of the walls in reception – Jan’s vision literally became enshrined in the walls of the business.
Fast forward a few years and Jan’s company is now one of the most successful of its kind in Sweden. Jan had been approached by a large US company who want to buy his business. Reluctant to sell Jan nevertheless agreed to meet with a delegation of including their CEO and Chairman. When they arrived Jan greeted them in reception and then led them to his office to hear their proposal. Somewhere along the away, the Chairman of the US company, a cheerful, avuncular individual, wandered off to explore. Jan and the CEO started the meeting. After about an hour the Chairman burst into the meeting room declaring:
“Jan, there’s happiness in these walls! How much do you want for it?”
Jan accredits this reaction to the strong sense of shared vision and values he had so carefully fostered over the years to the extent that everyone in his business was fully aligned with its aims and objectives while at the same time allowed to develop and grow as individuals. He describes it as a “culture of meaning”.
Jan sold the business in 1992, I believe, and devoted the next 7 years to finding a way of helping individuals and other businesses develop a “culture of meaning” for themselves. The result is ValuesOnline www.valuesonline.net.
I am proud to count Jan as a friend and mentor and to be one of the first in the UK to be trained as a ValuesOnline facilitator – if you would like to explore how to create happiness in YOUR walls please contact me for a FREE initial consultation.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 07 June 2007 )