Buit On Values-Candidate for 2011 Book Award

Posted on December 29, 2011 by People Ink

Ann Rhoades’ Book on Organizational Culture becomes an Award Candidate

business book awardsThanks to everyone who has purchased the book Built On Values-Creating an enviable culture that outperforms the competition  by Ann Rhoades.  People Ink has received positive feedback from business leaders, companies, and clients about the value and usefulness of the book.  It is now a candidate for the 2011 800-CEO-READ Business Book Awards.  Nominees for the the 2011 awards are posted here

The winning books, authors, and publishers from the categories of Marketing and Sales, General Business, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Finance and Economics, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Management, and Personal Development will be announced in January 2012.

organizational culture bookThe book – Built on Values helps companies get on the pathway to greatness by showing the exact steps for either curing an ailing organizational culture or creating a new one from scratch.

800-CEO-READ’s founder and president Jack Covert says the  Book Awards offer a great opportunity to review and distinguish the top titles of the year. “We want to thank the nominees and everyone who participated in this year’s awards. For the past twenty-seven years, we’ve been the only bookseller in the country focused exclusively on the business audience. This experience has put us in the unique position to highlight the best of the genre,” says Covert.

Ann Rhoades is an experienced Human Resources expert, she is known for creating corporate cultures based on values, customer service excellence, and employee engagement. Prior to founding People Ink Ann served as the Chief People Officer of Southwest Airlines, Promus Hotel Company (Doubletree Hotel, Homewood Suites, Embassy Suites, and Hampton Inn brands), and JetBlue Airways.

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Values-Based Culture The New Hot Topic in Business Management?

Posted on October 7, 2011 by People Ink

Values Based Leadership and Cultures Based Upon Values is now apparently Hot.

A recent online article by The Economist Magazine reports that Walmart is trying to instill a “Values-Based” organizational culture. Congratulations. If you need help please call us :-)

“AS WALMART grew into the world’s largest retailer, its staff were subjected to a long list of dos and don’ts covering every aspect of their work. Now the firm has decided that its rules-based culture is too inflexible to cope with the challenges of globalisation and technological change, and is trying to instil a “values-based” culture, in which employees can be trusted to do the right thing because they know what the firm stands for.”    source The Economist Magazine Continue reading →

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Employee Engagement Starts by Hiring “A” Players.

Posted on August 4, 2011 by People Ink

Gayle Watson, V.P. Of People Ink answers questions about employee engagement and organizational culture.

Employee Engagement and Management Practices.

Question: Lately I’ve been reading about employee engagement at work and strategies to help promote employee engagement. To me some employees seem more motivated about doing a good job and it’s not really a management issue. Do you think an engaged workforce is up to management or is it that some people are just more engaged because of the innate personal qualities they have such as integrity?

“Fundamentally, you have to have the right people working for you”

Gayle: Well, it’s both, but most importantly employee engagement comes down to hiring the right people, the people that reflect the Values of your organization. Of course you can do things to reinforce employee engagement, but fundamentally you have to have the right people and if you don’t have the right people, then you won’t be able to engage them.  There is a saying, that you can teach a squirrel to fly, but it’s easier to hire the eagle. Continue reading →

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Defining Your Organization’s Values-A Step towards Intentional Workplace Culture

Posted on May 6, 2011 by People Ink

We recently received this question from a reader:

“I have a quick question….  I am working with a client to define “values.”  Bought your book and discovered that the Values Team is doing much of what you suggest, which is nice to learn! However, we are getting very hung up on what is a value, vs. a strategy.  I don’t find any distinguishing definitions in the book.  Any help?”

What are Organizational Values?

This is a great question and one we get asked frequently when we are facilitating Values Blueprint® Workshops. Organizational Values are those beliefs held so strongly that they drive people’s behavior and dictate how people interact with and treat each other. Values, together with their defined Behaviors, set the minimum expectation of behavior for everyone in your organization, and help to lay the ground work for your company’s culture. We call this set of Values and Behaviors a Values Blueprint®. If your organization has been working on its culture for some time, then all employees should be able to state your organization’s Values and describe the Behavior that is expected of them.

Continue reading →

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Interview Strategy-Your Quest to Attract Top Talent

Posted on April 15, 2011 by People Ink

Hire the Best People with a Values-Based Interview Strategy

By: Ann Rhoades, author of Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition (Jossey-Bass, 2011.)

In your quest to attract top talent, are you hiring too many people who are just average? Why not let your best people help you select candidates who are a better fit for your corporate culture?

Getting your best people – your A Players – involved in the hiring process is a technique I call values interviewing, as part of a values-based hiring strategy.

Continue reading →

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How Google has become one of the world’s most enviable workplaces

Posted on April 7, 2011 by People Ink

Can lava lamps and beanbags REALLY inspire innovation?

This is a guest post by Kursty Groves of EnviableWorkPlace.com (visit their site to read more interesting articles on workplace culture, design, creativity)

News travels fast when there’s a new cool office that’s been opened – especially when that office belongs to one of the most talked-about companies in the world: Google.  With about a billion requests processed per day by the ubiquitous search machine, Google’s bid to ‘organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful’ is ever-becoming a reality.   But what’s just as remarkable as the bold business ambition is the expectations on what Google demands of its work spaces.

Continue reading →

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Corporate Culture Award of Distinction to Juniper Networks.

Posted on March 21, 2011 by People Ink

Congratulations to Juniper Networks for making the list of World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2011.

We are very pleased that one of our former clients is being recognized among the top companies in the world. :-)  What follows is  a letter written to Ann Rhoades of People Ink from Gregory Pryor, vice president of leadership and organization effectiveness at Juniper Networks.

Continue reading →

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Ann Rhoades Overview of Values-Based Leadership.

Posted on January 24, 2011 by People Ink
YouTube Preview Image

Ann Rhoades provides overview of Values-Based Organizational Leadership. Video.

What drives performance in values based organizations?

The basic model that we teach and use is that organizational leaders drive the values, values then drive the behaviors, the behaviors drive the culture, and the culture ultimately defines the performance.

Organizational leadership modelSuccessful Organizations are Predictable

Continue reading →

Posted in Business leadership, Organizational Culture, Values-based leadership | Tagged , | 1 Comment

It’s Official- In Bookstores Now-Built on Values

Posted on January 18, 2011 by People Ink

By Ann Rhoades

It has been over a year in the making but my new book is finally out in book stores. Yippee!!  This is a photo from a local Barnes & Noble store. More photos will be forthcoming.   I would like to express my thanks to all the people who have helped bring this to publication including my partners, colleagues, clients, and friends whom I list in the book.  No book is written alone and for all those who have contributed I consider it our book.  My fervent wish is that the knowledge I have helped develop over the years will be useful to organizations looking to create a desirable work place where people are treated fairly and hopefully encouraged to reach both organizational and individual potential.

Normally I leave writing of books to the professors but with the many requests over the years to put our culture management model into print it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor and one that I believe people can take and literally apply within their organizations.  Look for more information, content, even videos in the near future.

built on values book

Our local Barnes & Noble

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Creating a Successful Corporate Culture-Q&A

Posted on January 12, 2011 by People Ink

The following excerpt was made through The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (a dynamic, global network of more than 7,500 business owners in 38 countries)

Q&A with Ann Rhoades, author of Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition.Based on Ann’s years of experience with JetBlue, Southwest and other companies known for their trailblazing corporate cultures, Built on Values reveals exactly how leaders can create winning environments that allow their employees and their companies to thrive.

Overdrive: How integral is a company’s culture to its overall success and profitability?

AnnR: Every company has a culture, but a negative culture – where employees feel used up and spit out – works against your ability to succeed and make profit. You need a positive culture that empowers people to outperform the competition. High performers like JetBlue, Southwest, GE, Starbucks and Zappos, have a strong, distinct culture that employees are conscious of and use every day. Leaders need to keep in mind that companies like Pan Am, Eastern Airlines and even Enron had strong cultures in the beginning that ultimately became negative and failed their people. Continue reading →

Posted in Ann Rhoades, Corporate Culture | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Expert Ideas on Creating Your Organizational Culture (Podcast)

Posted on January 10, 2011 by People Ink

Ann Rhoades is featured on The Cranky Middle Manager Show. Visit the site to download the audio podcast or listen to it online.  Useful and practical ideas on shaping your company’s organizational culture. Below are the show notes of topics covered in the podcast:

Today Wayne Turmel talks to author Ann Rhoades about her new book: “Built on Values, Creating an Enviable Culture That Outperforms the Competition”.

  • Can you consciously create a culture or is it something that happens by accident?

  • How do you decide on your values and how can your company actually stick to them?

Continue reading →

Posted in Ann Rhoades, Organizational Culture, Speaking Engagements, Values-centric leadership | Tagged , , | 2 Comments