The New Small Business Revolution
Big or small, great things happen when business and individuals put the actions of The Company Cube® into practice. The latest experiences from around the world highlight the positive change taking place in work environments, colleagues and attitudes.
*These experiences are displayed in their native language. Google translation is available on each page.
Posted on in Value Every Person, Every Idea
(J.M. – USA) I left work early on Friday, and so on Monday, when I came into the office, there was a nice long ‘to do’ list…emails from clients, voicemails to return, regular mail to open. When I sat down at my desk, I immediately threw myself into the tasks. I had marked myself on our company in and out board as ‘in’ but ‘”DND’ (Do Not Disturb).
After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door, and one of our younger staff opened the door and said “Good morning, how was your weekend?” Of course, my first thought was, “Hey, didn’t you see the D‑N-D in the in and out board?” My second thought was “I don’t have time for this, I hope she hurries up.” Then, I remembered, “This is my neighbor, she is important.”
I told her about my weekend and asked about hers. We also talked about her young son who had been sick the week before, and caused her to miss work to take care of him. I really tried to listen well, and offered some of my own sick child experiences.
In a short time, she also asked about the work load this week and what she could do, especially to help me. By the time she left my office, she had taken two piles of my things, and I couldn’t help smiling, knowing that this ‘relief’ was a sure sign of doing the right thing to take a moment to pay attention to every person.
Posted on in Share Expertise, Time, Yourself
(E.J. – USA) I was working late one night when I realized I had a voicemail. Earlier in the day a friend with whom I am working on a project had left a message to call her. She lives three time zones away.
It was midnight and I was ready to call it a day. But it occurred to me that it was only 9:00 pm where she lived. I realized immediately that this was an opportunity to share my time, no matter how tired I felt I should return her call. When she answered, the tone in her voice confirmed for me that I’d made the right choice. Her joy paid me back a hundred times over for the small amount of fatigue I was feeling.
We were able to work for another hour on the details of the project, and we made great progress. But for me, even more important than the work on our project is the confirmation that when I pay attention that “little voice,” I discover ways of performing little acts that have a truly lasting effect for me and for my neighbor.
Posted on in Competitors Can Be Friends Too
(P.C. – USA) For the past 7 years, our company has been involved in environmental cleanup of a site. In an effort to save costs, our clients decided to have a different consultant (smaller and cheaper) conduct various routine tasks needed for the site, while keeping our company to handle the most complex aspects and provide general oversight of the project.
Early last year, we started noticing some problems with a quarterly report produced by the other consultant. The field techniques used were deficient and the results obtained did not seem realistic. After various honest reviews of the work and different attempts to explain to the other consultant how to approach the site and also how to report the difficulties encountered, the reports were still incorrect.
For us, it would have been easier to just tell the client that it was better if we conducted the field activities and reported the data. Instead, our company proposed to send our own field crew to the site and to include the consultant’s field crew in order to provide some training for them. The two crews went to the site and conducted the work in a collaborative way that was beneficial for the whole project.
This situation, which could have resulted in increased revenue for us, we transformed into a project that maintained relationships (even with competitors) and promoting collaborations with all the parties involved was the top priority.
Posted on in Build Relationships Every Day
(M.A. – USA) Our company is part of a network of companies called The Economy of Communion (EoC for short), in which we try to live out the principles of The Company Cube every day. As part of our work, we also run an EoC internship program in our company, and invite young people from all over the world to come and learn about how a business is run according to The Company Cube principles. These EoC interns share so many experiences in which their lives have been transformed by working in our company, and also how they have each made impacts.
Two of our interns, one from Brazil and one from Columbia, went together to a local coffee shop near our office at lunch time. They noticed how busy the women who owned the little shop was that day, scurrying around with a long line of customers, looking a little understaffed for the demands of the day. When they arrived at the front of the line after a long wait, they gave the women their order but said not to rush, they had plenty of time. As she caught her breath, they struck up a conversation with her about how her day was going, what had been happening in her life, and how business was going. In doing this, they understood that they were really putting into practice the vision of The Company Cube by entering into a relationship with this women.It turns out that the woman was not having a very good day – some mix-up had occurred in a delivery to her shop, an argument with a family member had occurred, and she was more stressed than normal. After really sharing her struggles with them, she added: “And to top it all off, today is my birthday!”
After getting their coffee, they left the shop and began talking about the lady’s situation. They decided that they would go across the street and buy her a little present, and bring it back to her. When they finally got up to the ‘next’ front of the line again, she looked at them and said ‘What are you doing back so soon?” At that point, they looked at each other, and pulled the present from behind their backs and together shouted ‘Happy Birthday!’ The women stood there for a moment in utter amazement. “This is for me? You did this for me?” she questioned them in disbelief. It was at that point that the woman began to cry, overcome by the generous nature of these two young people.
But, the experience doesn’t end there. A few weeks later, some of our full-time employees were in the same shop, and the same lady was working. She asked them, ‘Where do you work?’ And they said: “Mundell & Associates, down the street.” The lady looked at them and exclaimed in an animated voice: “Mundell & Associates? You have the best people in the world working there!” She then recounted for the employees the story of the two interns and their act of kindness. The employees left the coffee shop that day amazed and with free coffee, feeling happy with what impact even the small things it does can have on the local community.
For me, this little ‘story’ really is an example of the revolutionary power of The Company Cube – this ‘culture of giving’ that goes out from the companies to the local community, transforming it, revitalizing it, making it more of a true community, and then, having been changed, the community reciprocates, giving back to the company: Sharing with it, creating a mutual giving and receiving dynamic. Imagine what the world of work would be like if this attitude spread? It is like a special, some would say ‘divine’, virus that we can infect our working world with, spreading from one person to the next one on its own, because things like this often do. When there are real and authentic expressions of caring and sharing, there is no stronger medicine that can be given to our sometimes sick and anxious world, then what The Company Cube prescribes.
