April 6, 2011
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When talking to entrepreneurs, many will tell you they're atheists or at the very most agnostic. The mere mention of the words 'religion' and 'business' together will most likely offend some people. Businesses in the United States have long hung onto the idea that the two simply don’t and shouldn’t mix.
Lessons from religious institutions, however, can be translated into lessons for running a successful business.
An AOL article about Bob Williamson, the CEO of Horizon Software International and Honey Lake Plantation, discussed his transformation from an “alcoholic, drug-addicted homeless drifter [who] turned to God, turned his life around—and went on to start several multimillion-dollar companies.” I spoke to Williamson about the lessons in religion he believed help guide him to be a “serial entrepreneur and not a serial killer” and create 11 businesses (one that sold for $75 million). I also spoke with Douglas Atkin, co-founder of Yackit video chat, and author of The Culting of Brands: When Customers Become True Believers.
Here are the lessons they had to offer:
Uncover Your Businesses Ideology
Define the point of view of your business and the world according to your brand. You want to buy into the product and execution behind it, says Atkin. “The religion of Whole Foods is a good example of this. I’m committed to Whole Foods because I like their ideology, their products, and what they are trying to do with both.”
Write a Company Manifesto
Don’t get a God complex; rather this is your Jerry MacGuire moment. Let people know what you believe in as a company and what you stand for.
“This will create loyalty at a premium price,” says Atkin. “Essentially you're creating a belief system and look at the world religions, it’s hard to break a belief system.”
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JetBlue developed a great manifesto. They stated that what they stood for was fun, fairness and humanity—not just cheap airfare.
“Their flight attendants didn’t walk down the aisles stating, ‘chicken or beef,’” says Atkin. “They believed that didn’t engage the consumer. Instead they hired ‘virgins,’ people who hadn't worked in the industry but had good people skills. They created a cult devotion from the inside out.”
Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You
For Williamson, that meant conducting business with compassion, offering only the very best in his product, and being truly fair when it came to pricing.
"Jesus Christ’s mission statement was to serve other people. So that's what we made our mission statement,” says Williamson. “We provide outstanding customer service. No just good or mediocre; it had to be outstanding. Heads would roll if someone didn't treat someone properly. Our mission statement was tacked up on every cubicle. In the beginning I had everyone carry it in their wallet.”
As a result of these principles, Williamson had loyal employees. As his first business grew, he added to his mission statement that his company Horizon Software (which sold for $75 million) believed in working with the spirit of integrity and pride.
“Adding that had a huge impact on our success because we meant it and people felt that,” says Williamson. “I model everything I do according to the biblical standards. The Ten Commandments are simply good rules that ring true for running a business well. You can’t have sustainable success when you break them.”
Engage a Universal Commitment and You’ll Get Devotion
Communities are all the rage when it comes to branding. It’s hard to find a company that hasn’t made this a priority and religions certainly thrive though their communities. In terms of branding, Atkin noticed that companies like Converse, Apple and Harley Davidson had a near religious devotion. They enjoyed a cult-like following of extreme commitment.
“People think of cults as a bad word and they are not,” says Atkin. “Without cults there is no civilization. Most cults aren’t the negative association we tend to think of them as. Cults are new ideas around which there are really strong commitments to those ideas. Christianity is one. It took on its competitors and become dominant. Mormons are now mainstream. Without cults culture would die.”
Photo credit: JP via Flickr
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