Lesson #5: Create a Company Culture Worth Caring About
Lesson #5: Create a Company Culture Worth Caring About
Yang and Filo turned their hobby of surfing the Internet into a billion-dollar business. In the process, however, they never lost sight of how it all began. They were just two post-graduate students who found themselves bored with school and decided to have some fun instead. That is the bottom line behind the creation of Yahoo! And that is the bottom line the two wanted to maintain throughout the company even after its infancy.
Going to work at Yahoo! is a far cry from what most CEOs might be used to. The average employee is 29 years old and actually enjoys going to work. Why? Because it is not only a creative atmosphere, but a fun and casual one as well.
The company’s slogan early on was “Do what’s crazy, but not stupid!” Yang and Filo understood the importance of creating a fun atmosphere at work. The employees work long hours, but management is all too aware of that. As such, they make sure that the work environment caters to their every need. From video games throughout to catered lunch programs, Yahoo!’s internal culture is one of the company’s top priorities.
Yang and Filo wanted their company to be a place where people loved coming to work, just as they did. By focusing on creating a culture that makes employees feel at home, they have begun finding many employees who prefer staying at work over going home, simply because it is more fun.
That image has also been used in the company’s branding campaigns. Yang and Filo opted for a cool California image and a bright logo to represent their company, and they have placed it on everything from sailboats and parachutes to skateboards and hockey rinks. Yahoo! is not about being cooped up in an office, so why would its advertising be?
On top of that, Yahoo! also lets full-time employees in the U.S. become part of an incentive-based stock option plan. Rewards are given out based on reaching targeted goals and obtaining advertising contracts. But, more importantly, it places part ownership in the hands of employees, something which Yang and Filo feel has been essential to their success.
Employees are also able to deduct 15 percent of their earnings to purchase company stock. That stock price is further discounted to 85 percent of the going market value. Yang and Filo want to encourage their employees to be as interactive as the product they work so hard to create.
Yang and Filo could have walked away as millionaires when the first offer came to buy their company years ago. The likes of America Online and Netscape Communications were all vying for a piece of Yahoo! They chose to stay, however. “We're not in this for the fast money,” says Filo. “Really, what we want is to be part of this industry.”
Lesson 5 Create a Company Culture Worth Caring About
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“You have to realize when David and I were doing this it was just for fun,” says Yang. “We never thought it would even become a business.”
Yang and Filo turned their hobby of surfing the Internet into a billion-dollar business. In the process, however, they never lost sight of how it all began. They were just two post-graduate students who found themselves bored with school and decided to have some fun instead. That is the bottom line behind the creation of Yahoo! And that is the bottom line the two wanted to maintain throughout the company even after its infancy.
Going to work at Yahoo! is a far cry from what most CEOs might be used to. The average employee is 29 years old and actually enjoys going to work. Why? Because it is not only a creative atmosphere, but a fun and casual one as well.
The company’s slogan early on was “Do what’s crazy, but not stupid!” Yang and Filo understood the importance of creating a fun atmosphere at work. The employees work long hours, but management is all too aware of that. As such, they make sure that the work environment caters to their every need. From video games throughout to catered lunch programs, Yahoo!’s internal culture is one of the company’s top priorities.
Yang and Filo wanted their company to be a place where people loved coming to work, just as they did. By focusing on creating a culture that makes employees feel at home, they have begun finding many employees who prefer staying at work over going home, simply because it is more fun.
That image has also been used in the company’s branding campaigns. Yang and Filo opted for a cool California image and a bright logo to represent their company, and they have placed it on everything from sailboats and parachutes to skateboards and hockey rinks. Yahoo! is not about being cooped up in an office, so why would its advertising be?
On top of that, Yahoo! also lets full-time employees in the U.S. become part of an incentive-based stock option plan. Rewards are given out based on reaching targeted goals and obtaining advertising contracts. But, more importantly, it places part ownership in the hands of employees, something which Yang and Filo feel has been essential to their success.
Employees are also able to deduct 15 percent of their earnings to purchase company stock. That stock price is further discounted to 85 percent of the going market value. Yang and Filo want to encourage their employees to be as interactive as the product they work so hard to create.
Yang and Filo could have walked away as millionaires when the first offer came to buy their company years ago. The likes of America Online and Netscape Communications were all vying for a piece of Yahoo! They chose to stay, however. “We're not in this for the fast money,” says Filo. “Really, what we want is to be part of this industry.”
Lesson 5 Create a Company Culture Worth Caring About
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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