Editor's Note: Irishman Derek Irvine shares a Classic lesson on what St. Patrick's Day can teach us about celebrating the traditions and lore of our own organizations.
Around the world, St. Patrick’s Day has become a reason to celebrate the Irish in us all (and considering the size and breadth of the Irish diaspora, there’s more literal truth in that statement than you may think). And the traditions seem to be fairly universal – parades, shamrocks, green standards, Guinness (though green beer is purely an American invention, I assure you).
So, on the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day, let me ask you – what organizational traditions are celebrated across your organization? What defining moments, sayings or beliefs in your company’s history have become part of your company lore?
Turning these historical moments into regular celebrations are a strong bonding element for employees to rally around. Think of them as unofficial but powerful elements of your employer brand. What might this look like? IBM’s wild ducks is a terrific example. The phrase “don’t tame your wild ducks” has become catch-phrase meaning: “Don’t stifle innovation or innovative thinking. Always keep reaching for the stars.” It comes from former IBM Chairman Thomas J. Watson’s telling of the story of wild ducks, once tamed on a farm, could no longer fly and rejoin their wild cousins. He said: “You can make wild ducks tame, but you can never make tame ducks wild again.”
Now, there’s a public LinkedIn group and I’m sure many internal groups I’m not privy to dedicated to wild ducks and an entire internal culture built around ensuring wild, innovative, leading-edge thinking is always encouraged at IBM.
Zappos’ customer service culture is another example. They are fully committed to the happiness of their employees and, through them, their customers. That means all employees are 100% focused on quality customer service, whether the "customer" is a shopper on their website or a colleague down the hall. Indeed, Zappos leadership is so committed to continuing the appropriate culture, they offer customer service trainees several thousand dollars to leave after completing many weeks of training. If you’re willing to accept the money and leave, then clearly you do not understand, accept or contribute towards the needed culture.
These traditions are as powerful as any compensation, recognition or retention strategy. What are your company’s traditions that have become deeply embedded in your organization? How can you better use them to drive needed outcomes and results?
As Globoforce’s Executive Vice President of Client Strategy and Consulting, Derek Irvine is an internationally minded management professional with over 20 years of experience helping global companies set a higher ambition for global strategic employee recognition, leading workshops, strategy meetings and industry sessions around the world. He is a leader in the WorkHumanmovement and the co-author of "The Power of Thanks" and his articles on fostering and managing a culture of appreciation through strategic recognition have been published in Businessweek, Workspan and HR Management. Derek splits his time between Dublin and Boston. Follow Derek on Twitter at @DerekIrvine.
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