The documentary the Inside Job named Goldman Sachs two years ago

Greg Smith’s open letter of resignation from Goldman Sachs that appeared in the New York Times last week has been devastating on many levels. Only with time will the real impact be revealed, however already billions of dollars have been wiped off its stock price, with clients deserting at a fast pace. It has been a public relations fiasco. The questions I ask are: what about the colleagues and co-workers who remain at Goldman Sachs, and what of its employer brand?

Mr Smith, after 12 years at Goldman Sachs, writes that he could no longer participate in an institutionalized ‘toxic culture’ that he considered ‘moral bankruptcy’. This is strong language – and his allegations are directed at the most senior leaders the business.

I remember when I was at Ansett years ago (clearly) a colleague in his farewell speech chose to sledge his peers and superiors. He was young and thought it would be ‘insightful’. Whilst many of us may have concurred with his insights it was completely inappropriate to diminish others efforts publicly– quite frankly he came off as smug and superior… nothing was gained.

So what might be the outcome for Mr Smith’s colleagues at Goldman Sachs? His intention may well have been for the ‘greater good’, however for those people at Goldman Sachs who work hard and show up every day believing that they are doing some good work for their clients, they will be feeling angry and bewildered. Only time will tell if this letter is a catalyst for change, but the workaholic culture of this institution makes me suspect it will struggle to change its behaviour. Will Goldman Sachs employees dismiss or disregard his comments? Will they deny there is any truth in what he says? After such a damning public letter, would you admit that you were working in such a place with such a value system? It’s hardly the best employer brand to say you’re associated with. So will employees take a stand and agree with Mr. Smith. Or will they dismiss it as sour grapes?

Let’s look at employer brand for a moment: the reputation of an organization is critical to its ability to recruit and retain the best of the best. Goldman Sachs woos young smart graduates trying to attract them to a life of long hours and sacrifice. Will graduates think twice about what they want their CV to look like? Will they vote with their feet and not want to apply to work there? Without the best and brightest will Goldman Sachs be able to stay competitive? On the flip side, those current employees who have worked there for a long time may well have their career choices limited. Smith’s letter may well tarnish their reputations by association.

Last year in the GFC documentary Inside Job, Goldman Sachs was named as being culpable in the share crash and mortgage debt pyramid. Was than not warning enough that their business practices could not continue? Yet – going by Mr Smith’s letter – nothing has changed culturally. Is there a way Goldman Sachs will be able to lift and reinvent itself after 143 years?

There is a difference between a disgruntled employee leaving under a cloud and looking for revenge; and someone who is prepared to make a stand for integrity. History will show which camp Greg Smith is in – in the meantime, the question remains whether the Goldman Sachs employee brand can ever recover?

As leaders, we can learn a lot about our own organisations from the Goldman Sachs affair. Take a moment to think about your business values. Are they aligned and cascading through every level of your business? Our values are everything at RedBalloon. It’s who we are. What and how we do.  Letters like Mr Smith’s are a great reminder to stop, breathe, and take the pulse of your business.

I happened upon an old survey that I completed years ago. I’m not sure where it came from (as I had it in a spread sheet) but I was asked to rank from 1 to 10 each of the questions below. (10 representing doing really well.) In some way the questions represent a notion of ‘success’. Over time my answers may change. Interesting, however that most of the questions do relate to those five fundamental components of well-being documented by the New Economic Forum

1. People Connection
2. Being Active
3. Take Notice
4. Learning
5. Give

Take a moment and rate yourself – and see where you want to focus your energy (not all questions might be relevant). Your own ‘success’ and well-being is a personal journey.

• Finding meaningful and fulfilling work? ___
• Finding suitable spouse partner? ___
• Building a successful relationship with your spouse/partner? ___
• Raising your children? ___
• Building and/or maintaining a close relationship with your parents? ___
• Building and/or maintaining a close relationship with your siblings? ___
• Developing close friendships? ___
• Stewarding your financial resources? ___
• Living up to your intellectual potential? ___
• Nurturing your spiritual potential? ___
• Dealing with your fears? ___
• Finding wisdom? ___
• Taking care of your physical health? ___
• Taking care of your emotional health? ___
• Being of service to others? ___
• Being at one with yourself? ___
• Accepting your limitations? ___
• Coming to terms with aging and your own mortality? ___
• Everyone at birth is ‘dealt a hand,’ so to speak rate the quality of the ‘hand’ you were dealt? ___
• Overall, rate yourself on how well you believe you have played the game of life, given the hand you were dealt? ___

I have always operated believing that ‘if it is meant to be it is up to me’ – Where did you score below 5? And what are you going to do to work on that area. I’m reviewing my life in terms of the above and there is actions to be taken…

It is just as important to ask yourself hard questions about your life – and review how it is going – as it is for a business.

Prof. Fiona Wood: 'We could all say Thank-You a little more'

I had the privilege of meeting Professor Fiona Wood (Australian of the year 2005). She shared with the 800 women at the Business Chicks event Melbourne (and the following day in Sydney) her journey, persistence and passions. She is fundamentally curious person with a passion for learning that is addictive.

As a child growing up in Yorkshire, she heard her father say when she was just a small girl – ‘Who are we not to dream’ – even though he was a miner, with little education – he had big dreams for his children, all four of them going to tertiary education.

This very humble woman who has dedicated the past two decades to healing burn victims had some very profound things to say:

• “We should praise a little bit better – it does not hurt”
• “I think of all the people who helped me along the way – that I wish I’d thanked more – and now they are not here”
• “Taking a little extra time can make someone’s day – just seeing what they do and telling them.”
• “Thanking people is about getting the positive energy in”
• “The choices we make – make history tomorrow.”

Why is a natural state of happiness so important?  Professor Wood shared that those with the predisposition of positive energy are far more likely to heal – than those who are negative.

In her experience some of the toughest nursing jobs are those in the burns unit and the oncology unit – yet consistently she has seen lower absenteeism by nurses in those units. She says in her belief it is because those nurses are the one’s that are thanked the most, by their medical colleagues, but also the patients.

Professor Wood is passionate about us simply being grateful to those around us – and such positivity will hold us in great stead, incase we find ourselves in a calamity.

Thank you Fiona for your inspiring words – There were 800 women today who left, knowing that they could follow their dreams – and also feel wonderful by simply saying thank you sincerely to the people around them.

If you would like to donate to the burns, trauma and scarless healing foundation  http://www.mccomb.org.au/ it will be very gratefully received.

‘I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks’. William Shakespeare.

As I just complete my tenth Christmas at RedBalloon – I experience a sense of overwhelming gratitude. I have been truly humbled to see how RedBalloon has captured the imagination of so very many people.

In my wildest dreams ten years ago I never thought that we would make such a profound difference in all sorts of ways.

I thank the businesses and organizations that believe in what we do – and believe in their own people and choose to recognize them with a RedBalloon gift.

I thank the experience supply community who every day deliver experiences and fulfill on our promise of providing fabulous things to do.

I thank our other suppliers, like Bluefire, PwC, Westpac, Qantas and Telstra (and many others)– these big businesses who’s services mean that we operate smoothly and efficiently.

I thank the many marketing partners and agencies we work with – who understand our vision and believe in the dream

I thank our retail distribution partners including Australia Post, Coles, Woolworths, Myer, Big W and Target who are trying something different in store

I thank the 300,000 customers who came on-line in 2010 and purchased an experience gift for someone special (and reduced the clutter on the planet in the process.)

I thank those who are dear to me; my family, friends and fellow business leaders who never tire of my enthusiasm and energy.

I thank most deeply my colleagues past and present – who make RedBalloon the vibrant, fun and amazing place that it is to be.

And I thank the RedBalloon leadership team who constantly steer the ship – executing the plan and keeping all aligned – tirelessly.

Together we have created something… The dream of changing gifting in Australia forever is well on track….

Thank you! Thank you for believing moment by moment that it is absolutely possible; that what people want more than anything is special moments with those people who are important to them.

“For your thoughtfulness and generosity, from you I have learned much of life’s philosophy – Thank you sincerely.” – Author Unknown

And we both believe the company’s culture and the company’s brand are really just two sides of the same coin – As we say at RedBalloon Happy People = Happy Customers = Happy Profits

In Tony’s book he outlined his 10 beliefs in customer service. It can almost act as a check list to customer experience success.

Zappos.com 10  ways to Instil Customer Service into your Company

1. Make customer service a priority for the whole company, not just a department. A customer service attitude needs to come from the top.
2. Make WOW a verb that is part of your company’s everyday vocabulary.
3. Empower and trust your customer service reps. Trust that they want to provide great service… because they actually do. Escalations to a supervisor should be rare.
4. Realize that it’s okay to fire customers who are insatiable or abuse your employees.
5. Don’t measure call times, don’t force employees to up sell, and don’t use scripts.
6. Don’t hide your 1-800 number. It’s a message not just to your customers, but to your employees as well.
7. View each call as an investment in building a customer service brand, not as an expense you’re seeking to minimize.
8. Have the entire company celebrate great service. Tell stories of WOW experiences to everyone in the company.
9. Find and hire people who are already passionate about customer service.
10. Give great service to everyone: customers, employees, and vendors.

Every new person at Zappos (no matter there role in the business) has at least two weeks on the phone to customers as part of the induction program. There is no better way to know a business than have time with customers.

Thanks for the reminder to be vigilant, zealous and addicted to the customer experience. We’ll see how we stack up using this score card.

Sarah described what RedBalloon was like in the early days, how she met me for her interview at the local pub and joined the tiny chaotic team. This little group was set on creating a house hold name, focusing on being ‘a little dog with a big dog attitude’ – playing bigger than we really were.

Sarah then went on to manage our Customer Experience Team (formerly known as our Pleasure Relations Team as coined by Sarah). She played such a part in shaping the culture at RedBalloon, living our value of sense of humour and fun by running weekly trivia’s. Even on her last day Sarah arranged for three RedBallooners James, Thi and Kate to come across a riddle they had to solve on Monday. The riddle involved hidden clues to find a gift Sarah had hidden for them somewhere within the building. When they finally cracked the riddles (which kept them entertained for an hour) they found handwritten notes from Sarah. It’s good to see on her final day she kept the culture of personalised recognition and appreciation going!

The most rewarding thing for me to hear was when Sarah explained that she has been living her dreams for the past 5 years at RedBalloon. She described how proud she is to have been a part of the RedBalloon journey for so long, from a business that was relatively unknown, to meeting people and hearing them say “RedBalloon – what a fantastic place to work” to even seeing us listed as the ninth Best Place to Work in Australia by BRW (for the second year in a row).

Sarah’s story reinforces that trust is the foundation of a Best Place to work. Trust in the leadership and colleagues. No matter the challenges, whether it be difference of opinion, new ideas versus old experiences of the brand – it’s about believing that you support each other, work together and stay true to the overall purpose of the business.

To be continued…