Firms of Endearment

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* Book: Firms of Endearment. Raj Sisodia, Wolfe, and Jag Sheth. 2007

URL = http://www.firmsofendearment.com/

Description

Chad Renando:

"Firms of Endearment is a 2007 management book by authors Sisodia, Wolfe, and Sheth. Similar to Collins’ Good to Great, Firms of Endearment assesses performance of companies that fit defined criteria. Where Good to Great highlighted a company’s financial characteristics, Firms of Endearment looks first to qualitative metrics.

The book points to the aging population as a cause for a movement towards meaning in organisations. Older generations of business leaders, begin to search for a deeper meaning from their efforts. This meaning is found in a holistic approach to stakeholder relationship management in five groups: Society, Partners, Investors, Customers, and Employees." (http://www.sidewaysthoughts.com/blog/2011/12/my-frustration-with-firms-of-endearment-shame-meaning-and-action/)


Characteristics

Chad Renando:

"The book highlights 30 organisations that best meet the criteria and demonstrate the following core values, policies, and operating attributes:

  • Align the interest of all stakeholder groups, not just balance them.
  • Their executive salaries are relatively modest.
  • They operate at the executive level with an open door policy.
  • Their employee compensation and benefits are significantly greater than the standard for the company’s category.
  • They devote considerably more time than their competitors to employee training.
  • Their employee turnover is far lower than the industry average.
  • They empower employees to make sure customers leave a transaction experience fully satisfied.
  • They make a conscious effort to hire people who are passionate about the company and its products.
  • They consciously humanise the company experience for customers and employees, as well as the working environment.
  • They project a genuine passion for customers, and emotionally connect with customers at a deep level.
  • Their marketing costs are much lower than those of their industry peers, while customer satisfaction and retention are much higher.
  • They view suppliers as true partners and encourage suppliers to collaborate with them in moving both their companies forward.
  • They honour the spirit of laws rather than merely following the letter of the law.
  • They consider their corporate culture to be their greatest asset and primary source of competitive advantage.
  • Their cultures are resistant to short-term, incidental pressures but also prove able to quickly adapt when needed. As a result, they are typically innovators and breakers of conventional rules within their industries."

(http://www.sidewaysthoughts.com/blog/2011/12/my-frustration-with-firms-of-endearment-shame-meaning-and-action/)