Each month, our team picks a book that we agree gets at the values we hold near and dear as an organization. Then, each Wednesday, our team meets during lunch to discuss everyone’s key takeaways. We relate what we’ve learned back to our business model and how we can improve, both for ourselves and for our members. Once you start reading this month’s pick, you won’t be able to stop…kinda like a habit.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is a New York Times Best Seller “has transformed the lives of Presidents and CEOs, educators and parents— in short, millions of people of all ages and occupations.”
The most important takeaway from this book for us was how each of the seven habits relate back to our business model:
- Be Proactive: Here at Republic, we encourage our employees to take part in projects that interest them. Team members like Katelyn N. are a great example. She started as an intern, but then decided that she wanted to work here full-time. So she took initiative and created her own job description, along with a 90-day plan for what she would accomplish in that position. Thanks to her determination, she now works on the Republic communications team full-time.
- Begin with an End in Mind: Every product we create goes through a process: ideation, conceptualization, prototyping, piloting, testing, and then finally, launching. In other words, we are always thinking about an ideal future state and what we need to do in our current state to get there. It often means involving you, our members!
- Put First Things First: You are your own manager, and not only do you need to create a list of tasks to accomplish, but you also need to prioritize those tasks. This is why all of the desks at Republic are covered in sticky notes and why we are huge proponents of Google Calendar. All other tasks aside, our number one focus at Republic is always our members and how we can provide you with the best solution to fit your needs.
- Think Win-Win: At Republic, we have a win-win relationship with our members. Our members offload more data to WiFi and help each other in the Community, so that we can give our members the low prices and great service they deserve.
- Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: You can’t expect people to listen to you if you do not listen to them. We create an open, empathic atmosphere, where everyone has the right to be heard and will receive our full attention. Anybody can walk right up to our lead team and voice their ideas. We thrive on collaboration and seek out co-creation.
- Synergize: We are very team-oriented and even arranged our desks in a way that promotes cohesiveness and cooperation. No job can be done alone, and we constantly play on each others’ strengths to deliver the best possible products and services.
- Sharpen the Saw: We encourage employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle physically, mentally, and spiritually. All employees receive gym memberships, and there are convenient exercise classes on site during lunch hours for employees. We also do lunch & learns and activities like book club, so employees can mentally renew themselves. There are various volunteer and charitable opportunities, so employees can give back. It’s all about creating an upward spiral that will lead to growth, constant improvement, and pride in our work.
We highly encourage everyone to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and think about what habits you would like to improve. It certainly has our team thinking more about how we sharpen our saw and renew ourselves to create positive momentum. Stop by next month for a new book and new insights from our team. You can also check out last month’s pick, Starting with Why.
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