Developing Culture Rock Stars with Dee Robinson, CEO of Robinson Hill

Dee Robinson is the founder, CEO, and President of Robinson Hill, a concession management company based in Chicago. Dee Robinson is a leader in the Chicago business community, and has been honored with the 2017 Business Leader of Color award.

Robinson Hill is a culture development company which aims to elevate the top brands in the dining and retail environments with a focus on a superior customer experience at the point of sale. Robinson Hill is named in honor of Dee’s mother, Helen Hill, whom Dee Robinson has looked to as an inspiration for her life and work ethic.


 
 

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

  • [02:07] What does corporate culture mean to Dee Robinson?

  • [12:08] Fixing culture helps to fix other problems

  • [24:45] Culture is at the core of all business relationships


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1:                           From Core Values to Valued Culture, here is your host, Will Scott interviewing another CEO about leading culture in their company.

Will Scott:                           All right, listeners. Welcome to another Culture Czars interview where we talk to CEOs that care about their corporate culture. We call the series From Core Values to Valued Culture and Dee is CEO and enthusiastic czar of culture at Robinson Hill. Good morning, Dee.

Dee Robinson:                   Good morning, Will.

Will Scott:                           It's really a pleasure to talk to you this morning. As you know, I know a little bit about the culture over there at Robinson Hill. I've seen the work that you've done. So, really excited to talk about that, but before we get into the culture, tell us a little bit about Robinson Hill.

Dee Robinson:                   Well, first of all, I've got to say how excited I am to be here today and talk to you about Robinson Hill, but more important, our culture. Our company is a concessions moment company. We operate in airports across the country. People know us from our brands, from Ben and Jerry's, Potbelly's, Hudson Group is a range of retail as well restaurants that we operate in captive markets around the world.

Will Scott:                           You have a great and thriving business there, and of course I have eaten at those establishments of yours.

Dee Robinson:                   We appreciate the support, and also the audience, because many I'm sure have been customers of ours, whether visiting us at Hudson News at O'Hare or Midway Airport, or in Boston with Potbelly's, or in DC with Lebanese Taverna. But, it's great that we have an opportunity to touch people in that way as well.

Will Scott:                           You do have a lot of opportunities to touch folks every day. So, when we talk about corporate culture, Dee, what does that mean to you?

Dee Robinson:                   As you know, I'm thrilled to be talking to someone who has actually been able to witness some of the things that we do. Culture is really about the people of the organization. Culture, to me, equals people. End of the day, we've got to understand that as we take really good care of our people, and I know brands that have said this as well, take care of the people, and they'll take care of your customers. When you start recognizing how important they are, remember, they're out there doing the work.

Dee Robinson:                   I often times say, "We at Robinson Hill, we this, we that." People ask me, do I have a partner. Well, the fact is, I don't have a partner. I own the company, but our team is our partner, and that they're the ones doing the work. So, you can't expect excellence from them if you don't honor them in some excellent way. So, we really took some time, because I started seeing some things happening in the company I didn't like and took some time starting investing and understanding it.

Dee Robinson:                   I always knew what I wanted for our company and our people, but we didn't always execute that. Then, this opportunity to focus on culture and work with people like you can help you zero in on how to make sure you're delivering good results in terms of profitability, but also the results of people who know that you care. You also cut costs because you minimize turnover and all these things. But, end of the day, I just want people to love coming to work at Robinson Hill.

Will Scott:                           So, how would you describe the culture at the company?

Dee Robinson:                   Well, what I will tell you is today, in fact, this is a perfect time for us to have this interview, because we just conducted a culture survey. Once again, there were just things that I was noticing, but for us to really launch a program, it really was important for us to figure out what existed. Many companies may have a gap between what it is and what they hope that it is and believe that it is.

Dee Robinson:                   I'm thrilled to report that when I read through all the survey's results from each of our locations, I was thrilled that we were living our values. When you think about excellence, leadership, integrity, very, very, very important when you think about community, and then end of the day, leadership. Because, everyone is a CEO within the company because everyone has a role to play. I'm hoping that we can figure out a way to help people understand that they are the leaders of their lives.

Dee Robinson:                   We talk about better habits, better lives, but now we're starting to understand what that is, looking at our rock stars, people who we know perform. Because, they also define the culture, but sadly, there are people who are on the other side of that who define it. So, we frankly have taken a lot of steps to get rid of people who don't fit.

Will Scott:                           I know integrity, leadership, excellence are all core values that you have. It's great to do a survey. Was that an anonymous survey?

Dee Robinson:                   It was, and those are the ones that get you the best results. As I said to my management team, we can't change what we don't know. We can't affect change without having the information so we know what to do. We had one site, because we were looking for 100% participation. I will say this, too. We had a location that won, and we had a contest around getting everyone to get involved. I'm happy to say that we got to over 80%. However, we had a site that came in under 20%. That is quite telling.

Dee Robinson:                   The implications of that means there's something going on there. So, we've now had to bring a team into that location to figure things out. But, frankly, that talks about management. Something's going on there that people didn't feel that they either wanted to give their feedback or were afraid that they might say something and get back. But, as we learned, and I'll be frank, we've learned that there are some issues in the location. This is why you have to go out there and get the information and learn from it.

Will Scott:                           Of course, we like to say that you're only as good as your worst employee, so usually changing culture means changing out some of the employees. Do you think everybody's a fit at that location?

Dee Robinson:                   No, I'm absolutely certain of that now. You have some sense of it because there are certain KPIs that you're watching in the business, and you know there's something there, but again if you take care of your people, the people will take care of your customers, and the customers help lead the results, right? When you start seeing a downturn or a movement at a location, that's a sign of something. You wonder if it's operational. To get the results back from this one site led to us knowing that we had to spend more time there. I often times say there's no substitute for a leader's presence. When you look at these results, we're finding that maybe their leadership is not necessarily engaged in a way we would want in anyone who's a member of our team.

Will Scott:                           I like to say that with core values, there can't just be words on the wall. We need to bring them alive, make them thrive, and use them to drive the organization. I know you did a great job bringing them alive with some great looking posters, and you put these up everywhere. How has that worked for you?

Dee Robinson:                   It's a great point, because all of us have been in places where there are signs on walls. Most of us frankly just pass them by because we become numb to them. You must indeed figure out a way to live the values. That means that for instance in the awarding of rock stars every week, we asked every manager to submit a name. That person, we asked why did they become a rock star? It's generally because it has to be that they somehow exhibited some core value of us. That's one way we live it. The other way is to talk about it in team meetings, whether it's a shift meeting or a team meeting. Make sure you're having conversations about it then asking the group to tell you about examples of how we've been living our values, that we do this, did we do that?

Dee Robinson:                   Like I said, the survey revealed that we're doing a relatively good job, but as a result of this work, and again I've got to take a moment and applaud the work that you do, Will, because in this time, I've invested quite a bit of time and resources in this process. I will tell you that it is probably one of the most important things that we've done as a company. I know that you're helping people get there, and it's a long journey, but working with someone like you can really help them zero in on the opportunities to take their company to another level.

Dee Robinson:                   So, I appreciate the work that you do and the conversations that you and I have. But, there is definitely an opportunity for us to continue to work around how to live it. So, we're having a culture launch as a result of us now getting our survey in place. We've done some great things from developing our values card that they can wear on their lanyard that also has our values. We have a rubber band that you can snap, better habits, better lives. It also talks about our values of excellence, leadership, integrity, community. All of those things, we're just continuing to reinforce.

Dee Robinson:                   Then, we have a t-shirt that everyone will get as part of the launch. Everyone is going to get this great package of materials. The beauty of all the materials, they may not wear them all every day. I've given them many reasons to actually have them, whether it's through the teacher, the band, the lanyard, but we all have to be reminded. All of us say we know what to do, but we don't always do it. So, one, I do want to have active reminders about what we stand for. You know we also have that team analyzer, and our analyzer that now our managers are required to do monthly. We've gotten away from the annual review.

Dee Robinson:                   Why wait that long? We're evaluating each member of our team on values, and I get that monthly. A great example, I received one from a manager. One is a good score. Three is poor. I'm looking at all the five values, and suddenly, integrity was a three. That's the worst score you can ever get in anything that we do. I had to pick up the phone and call the manager and have her explain to me how is someone, and you're saying is selling, is a three? She explained to me an incident.

Dee Robinson:                   I had to say, "Then why is she on our team?" When you have integrity questioned, that's a no brainer. We must release, but there are times when we get caught with people who we know are performers, and it's easy because they're doing the job. Sometimes it's hard for a manager to make hard decisions, and you might have someone doing something. But, remember what you're doing. You're condoning a behavior that is against our values. That's not living our values. That's actually disrespecting them.

Will Scott:                           You're obviously not only bringing them alive, but you're doing a monthly check-in with employees. You're actually doing a measurement as well. People say, "Can you measure culture?" Yeah, there are a few ways to measure culture, and you've figured out a way there. Yeah, the low score highlighted a problem for you, we you're able to address. At the beginning, you were saying I think how important it is. Once you've started fixing up culture, the other things started just to go a lot easier, right?

Dee Robinson:                   Oh, it's amazing, and to see people who start seeing it, or when they see you actually take steps to make changes for the better. The fact is, all your employees know where the problems lie. They know the people who they’d rather not work with. Yet, they just sort of accept it, and they keep doing their job, but I don't want to have a company that way. I don't want people to accept mediocrity. I don't want people to accept bad conditions. I want them to come to work wanting to be there. I want them to participate in our growth. Some of our change has also been about whether you're in line with the fact that we are trying to grow as a company.

Dee Robinson:                   I say you either want to be a part of our growth, or you go. So, it's grow or go. Yeah, it's grow or go. That's our mantra as we seek this journey of more growth. We've been blessed beyond measure, and I see great opportunities. My mom, who my company is named after, has always instilled this sense of hospitality, doing the right thing, caring about people. In fact, there's a quote from my mom on the t-shirts that we'll deliver to all of our team members. She said leave people and places better than you found them. So, we hope that our folks get there every day and know that they have an opportunity to make a difference.

Will Scott:                           Speaking of your people, and you were saying you're giving out t-shirts, and you've got bands and lanyards. You're doing all these things to keep the core values present and in front of people and keep that part of things thriving, but I know you care, too, don't you? Right to the front line, you want that server on the front line, even in a fast food restaurant to be representing your values and passing that on to your clients.

Dee Robinson:                   It's interesting. This was one of my epiphanies. You think about this. We represent some of the best of best brands. I mentioned Ben and Jerry's, Potbelly's, all of them. We've all been at a restaurant or anywhere where the service has been awful. That tarnishes the brand. Then, you ask yourself, have you provided the proper training? Do the people know what we care about so we can get them to care about the things we care about? Have we done the work? Have we made the investment to make sure that we're going to get that result? I will tell you, we failed at doing that in a great way.

Dee Robinson:                   I guess you'd say in a consistent way. We tend to all think I trained them up front. I gave them all the books and the manuals. They are ready to go and deliver great service. That might happen for a moment, but then people kind of get back to old habits or decide they don't care, or maybe they don't think we care. That translates, so I think we all have an opportunity to invest more in our people, particularly those who have direct contact with our customers. We see opportunities there as well.

Will Scott:                           What effective ways have you found to train your employees on culture?

Dee Robinson:                   Well, back to our discussion earlier about making sure they're talking about it in staff meetings, the other thing now that they could do is they can recommend a rock star themselves, somebody from their team who they think is living our values. We're all aspirational. My hope is that when they see someone else doing a great job or, more importantly, when they're rewarded for it. We do reward them. I might have shared with you, we now have something called the index card that we keep on every employee. I can't take credit for this. This was actually an idea that I got from Rear Admiral Stephen Evans who is an admiral in our US Navy.

Dee Robinson:                   So, when he goes to a site, he get this card, and then he knows his people. Some fascinating things happen for me. Now, I do that. All managers are required to keep these cards. But, we ask them about their family, date of birth, know their birthday, things like that. But, I want to know what their goals are and what they hope to achieve while working. There's a young lady who works for me. She's a rock star, but I remember reading her card. She is a 29 year old woman with three young kids, 10 and under at home. She said, "All I wanted to do is to be a great role model for my kids." She wanted to buy a car. She just wanted to learn.

Dee Robinson:                   The fact that she wanted to get a new car, great, but this was a woman who shows up every day, stays late, and she still has three kids at home. Her rock star status elevated because I know that she's giving me her all. That's the kind of team member you want. Sadly, she had an incident where she was robbed and whatnot, but I knew she wanted a new car, and I was going to help her with her car. She said, "I got it, Dee." What I did is I paid for a month, no. I gave her a check and paid for her car. She was overwhelmed. You don't have to do that, Dee. I said, "I know I don't, but I want to." But, I'm now able to align the things that I want to reward my people with the things that they want as well.

Dee Robinson:                   We're now sending a young lady to the Wisconsin Dells. She's an older lady, never been up there, has always dreamed of it. She's going to the Wisconsin Dells, but she's one of my stars. When I do see people living our values, when I see people just doing hard work and giving everything of themselves, those are what I call my keepers. I want those folks because they're going to help me with the journey of developing and living the culture of Robinson Hill. When people see that they're rewarded, my hope is they'll elevate. In the meantime, let's make sure we're doing what we can to help them get there.

Will Scott:                           It sounds like your rock stars are basically culture czars or people that are great at representing your culture.

Dee Robinson:                   I love that name, by the way, culture czars. We call them rock stars. I may have to elevate it to a new level. I said, "That's the czar of Robinson Hill." I like that, Will.

Will Scott:                           That's very kind. I think rock stars is working for you, too.

Dee Robinson:                   Indeed, it is.

Will Scott:                           That was a great story, and again it reminds me that again you're not only recognizing people when you catch them committing core values. You're recognizing them, but you're making the reward relevant to something that's very personal to them. Of course, by finding out what their personal desires are, you're showing them that you really do care about them. They're going to pay that back to you in spades, aren't they?

Dee Robinson:                   No question about it. It's a brilliant idea, and I thank Admiral Evans for this idea, but I can tell you it's not just valuable for me. It's also the managers. When I then know that there's something going on, anything we should know about, guess what? I know about it through maybe they've articulated in the card, but it is a way to also connect. Isn't that what culture is about, as well? Connecting with people?

Will Scott:                           I try to encourage leaders all the time. If they're walking by employees in their hallway, don't just sort of say hi in a blasé way, but really stop, take a moment. I like to incite the African greeting, sawubona, where you're actually saying, "I see you." Are you really seeing your employee?

Dee Robinson:                   What is that phrase called?

Will Scott:                           I'll send you an article on it, but it's-

Dee Robinson:                   I would love it.

Will Scott:                           It means, "I see you," and really means, "I'm seeing into you." I'm really seeing you for a person and who you are. It's not just a casual hey, hi. How are you today?

Dee Robinson:                   Well, I couldn't agree with you more. It is also the culture of us. When I go into locations, I literally touch every single team member. Most times, I hug, so I'll go in, and I give them a hug, and I thank them. I just say, "Oh, good to see you." Hug, thank you. But, I know it's beyond measure. In fact, oh, Dee, I wish we would see you more often. I wish I could, but the way they're going to get more of me is again in making sure that they are living the culture and core values. The more I go out there, and as we grow, it's hard to always be there, but I know that my presence is there by making sure that my team is out there living what I hope is a part of who we are.

Will Scott:                           Stories are a great way, and retelling stories are a great way of helping people know what you mean by core values. Of course, you've told us some of our core values. They're the words of integrity, for example, and leadership, and excellence. But, I know under each of those core values, you've also got what I call descriptive behaviors that help people know what do you mean by respect at Robinson Hill? What do you mean by leadership at Robinson Hill? Tell us a bit about that.

Dee Robinson:                   Well, that's a great, great question, and you're right. Again, as we mentioned earlier, they could just become words on the wall. We also have to understand that our job is to teach. People always want to know why, right? You can say go do this, but if you help them understand why they're doing it, it becomes more a part of them, and they now have reasons to go act in the way you desire. That's the same with these core values, being able to say, "Okay, now, what does excellence really mean? What does she mean by that? What does Robinson Hill mean by that?"

Dee Robinson:                   Here are some of the behaviors. So, we're going to do one thing at the end of the launch. We're going to actually do a little contest, but it's just really a little ... All right, can you identify our values? Do you know what it means to do? Give me examples of that, because I actually want them to deliver examples of that, because by doing so, it's going to ingrain that value within them.

Dee Robinson:                   Those descriptors are important. Again, you have to talk about them, and consistency is so critical in the success of any organization. So, whether it's consistent in delivering our menu or producing a product. It's the same thing around core values. You have to be consistent in how you talk about it. You have to be good examples of it. Then, you have to continue to communicate it over and over and over again. As I said before, we may know what they are, but do we really practice those things?

Dee Robinson:                   I always talk about, well, everyone knows what it means to lose weight, and they could all tell you what it is, but are they doing what it takes? We've got to figure out a way of ... Here they are. Explain what it is. Live it, but then see if we're watching you actually do that. That was really the genesis of the band that's called Better Habits, Better Lives because the other part of excellence and leadership is actually making sure our people are not just better for Robinson Hill, but for themselves.

Dee Robinson:                   I love the fact that people will walk out of there thinking that I have better opportunities to change the trajectory of my life at home with family, all of that. These are values that I know can carry them in this job or any other job and help lead their success. That's what I want for all our people. I want them to lead successful lives, not just a career in a company, but successful lives. What we do in our lives, hopefully we'll do in our jobs.

Will Scott:                           I like to encourage leaders to not only think about leading their company, but really to think about leading a culture. You think about leading a culture, suddenly your horizons are much bigger than just the four walls of your company and shareholders and stuff. You actually are extending the influence to your clients downstream, to your vendors upstream, and also your employees are taking it home with them. When difficult conversations become necessary, I find it so much easier to handle those. You've got a vendor that's not conforming, you can just hold up your core values to them and say, "Look, this is the sort of vendor that we work with, the ones that conform to these values."

Dee Robinson:                   I would say whether it's for vendors, partnerships, business partnership, it literally carries across all. I couldn't agree with you more because there are people who might come to us to do business. Frankly there are people I've said no to because their values aren't aligned with mine. That's how you also live your values, but I couldn't agree with you more, Will.

Will Scott:                           Yeah, it's going to be a lot harder working with people who don't have the same values compared to if you're working with people who do have those values.

Dee Robinson:                   No, I couldn't agree with you more. I think that's an important takeaway, and this is back to us saying, not on living within a company, but who you are. When you bring an authentic self to your work and again finding people who are aligned. That's why it's so easy now when we have an employee who isn't a fit. Okay, boom, boom, boom. If there's a three somewhere, it means they need to go. Frankly, as I said before, a three in integrity is an automatic termination, by the way. You've got to also help people understand that you can't pass on that. Excellence, leadership, okay, they weren't quite there. Then, our job is then to figure out how to help them get there.

Dee Robinson:                   That means there's a training opportunity. That's what's so wonderful about the team analyzer. We tweaked it differently than I think its initial use, that there's something part of that EOS system, but sort of took a different variation of that to serve our purpose. But, it's really creating the tools. The more you simplify it, Will, and you know this as well, don't complicate this. The hard part is doing the work, getting started, and then defining it. Once you define it, then live it. Don't question it. Just go about being who you are. That's the opportunity where you're going to lead to better results and better people.

Will Scott:                           What would you say to the skeptics, Dee, that think this is all a bunch of hooey? Can you honestly say that since you invested in culture, you've seen positive impact on the top line and bottom line for the company?

Dee Robinson:                   Listen, there is plenty of research out there that demonstrates that as we take care of our employees, we'll take care of customers. There is from McKinsey, in fact, I did a presentation recently, and I had those stats on the wall because people just don't know. But, when you take a Chick-fil-a for instance, and they're talking about how great their performance is, you know what they say? It's because of the culture and their people, how they treat their people. If anybody is a skeptic, one, just go online. Do the research. Call me up.

Dee Robinson:                   I can tell you what it is that we've done, and I've seen it. You can see how our operations looked before we started to where we are now. I was so moved by something one of my managers said to me. That location had not been performing, and you actually saw. You met this woman, but I sat them all down. Again, they also have to have touch points with me on occasion. Their district manager went in and says, "What happened? What's going on?" Because, I went in there, and I wasn't happy. Oh, we were motivated by Dee. Well, but that was what her job was, is to motivate them to perform and deliver.

Dee Robinson:                   But, I shared with them what I cared about. I know they know. They know that I care. What I will tell them is be authentic, number one. See what happens. You have nothing to lose by giving this a chance. I've seen it. I know others. I know people who have used you. I frankly was overwhelmed by the work and the time that I had to put into this. It's not something that you can do, by the way, without some guidance and understanding. But, I know it has paid great dividends for Robinson Hill. And, if you're skeptic, what do you have to do, but try it? What's the worst that could happen? You either stay where you are, but I tell you one thing, you won't get any worse.

Will Scott:                           Even though it's taken you quite a bit of time and energy, it's a relatively low investment, isn't it, from a cash or capital point?

Dee Robinson:                   Oh my God, yes. For me, and this is again, it's not a plug for you, but it's just a value. People like you in this space. I started the journey trying to do it on my own and just understanding that there was a change that I wanted to create within Robinson Hill. Then, of course, then we started talking to people like you and helping us to find and think through it. Then, it helped us crystallize the thoughts and what needed to go in. Because, it's a lot that you think you could be doing, but it's important that you're doing the things that are going to add the real value. You can help people really zero in on those things. You're right.

Dee Robinson:                   The investment is really low. Then, I think about the things we do put money in. I'm thinking, really? When you do something like this that is just a little time, there are some practices, what you have that will help people get to that point a lot sooner. So, when we started employing some of those practices, we certainly got there sooner than later. But, it's part of me, too, because I just cared. I wanted to understand, and I knew what I wanted. I was evaluating why we weren't getting there. But, it is probably one of the best things I've done. My company is 25 years old this year.

Will Scott:                           Congratulations, by the way.

Dee Robinson:                   Thank you, but it's the one thing that has allowed me to finally feel that the thing that I envisioned for our company, and I know it's been happening all along, but now it's a lot more crystallized. I actually start seeing the fruits of the labor. That particularly becomes important when a leader is growing a company or they're not as present on the front line or involved. This kind of work becomes even more critical when leaders can't be engaged with their team.

Will Scott:                           It's a relatively low investment with a very high potential return.

Dee Robinson:                   It's incredible.

Will Scott:                           And, it's fun, and it feels good.

Dee Robinson:                   It's all of those. It is all of those things. It's so funny. You scratch your head, and you'll say, "Gosh, why didn't I do this sooner?" Right? It is fun for me, because I am getting to know my people better I'm being able to respond to the things that they need. I'm not even really focused on the profit and all those things. I just care that I want them to feel good about coming to work. I know that I'm creating opportunities to learn. And, the fact that I'm helping them to understand that every day they come to work, they have an opportunity to make a contribution. Wow, I leave some places and think, I made a difference.

Will Scott:                           Absolutely.

Dee Robinson:                   We have to help people get there, and the benefits are really beyond measure. So, I thank you again for the work that you do out there, but we're thrilled. I would say if someone asks me what some of the best work I've done, and there's a lot of things we have to be proud of, but this work at this level, being able to feel whether I can touch and reach people more personally, this is one of those things I would say we invested in and had a high return.

Will Scott:                           People do want to feel like they're making a meaningful contribution with their day at work, and they want to feel valued. One of the great ways to do that is of course to provide them with some great mission or purpose, but also an environment where they feel like they can thrive and is safe, which is usually achieved by defining your core values.

Dee Robinson:                   No question, no question. Again, we cannot ignore the value of praise, right? People have to know that they're valued. We fail to do that many times. We know that they are. They're there, but creating ways to demonstrate, communicate, and it's not always gifts or anything. Again, it could be just the fact that you're investing in, that you're talking about it. They're getting something out of it and relating to them in some personal way.

Dee Robinson:                   I just think that today, even just this morning, it was one of my folks. I told her I wished I could clone her. She's doing an outstanding job, but I do pick up the phone when somebody is actually doing a great job. When managers actually send me their list of rock stars, they get a note from me thanking them for living our values. The fact that they're going to get something from the CEO, people get excited about that. But, you know what? Look how much time that was. Again, the payoff is huge.

Will Scott:                           Yeah, when you talk about wanting to clone people, I'm reminded of one of the great benefits of having well-defined core values that are instilled throughout the company is people make decisions the same way you do. You've got all those locations and all those staff on the front line and you can't be there all the time, but with the compass of the core values that they have from Robinson Hill, they're able to make decisions the same way you would. It just empowers them.

Dee Robinson:                   It truly, truly, truly does. I think again that's why you know the investment is worth it. Because, if we don't lead values or if we don't lead the culture of our companies, you're allowing other managers to do that for you. That's what's kind of interesting, and why you have to invest. Particularly when you have a multi-level, multi-unit business, without having that stable sense of what that is ... Howard Schultz actually talked about that's when Starbucks also kind of lost their way a bit. They had started out, and you know I studied a lot of the Starbucks materials on values and culture, but that was one of the things.

Dee Robinson:                   When they started to go sideways, they lost sight of that. Site by site, it was then defined by the managers. You can't allow that to happen. The way you prevent that is again living it, making sure that you communicate it. Talk it, walk it, and that's why once again I would encourage any company out there, particularly those who are questioning this very soft science, if you will, that the soft science will lead to meaningful, measurable results.

Will Scott:                           Well, Dee, we're coming to the end of our time. Thank you so much. I really appreciated your input today, and some great stuff there for our listeners. If the listeners want to hear anything more or see other interviews, just visit us at CultureCzars.com. Dee, what final word you leave for our listeners who are thinking about embarking on the journey of going from core values to having a valued culture?

Dee Robinson:                   Well, one thing, just ask yourself what kind of result that you want. What kind of impact do you want to have? Understand that you have the power to influence lives.

Will Scott:                           Wonderful. Thank you, Dee. That's been awesome, and thank you so much. I'll see you soon.

Dee Robinson:                   I'm looking forward to it. Thank you.

Will Scott:                           Thanks for being here today.

Dee Robinson:                   Keep up the good work.

Will Scott:                           Appreciate it, bye.

Dee Robinson:                   Bye, now.

Will Scott:                           Bye.

Speaker 1:                           Thanks for listening. Be sure to click subscribe. Check us out on the web at CultureCzars.com, and we'll see you next time.

 

William Scott