+ Strong Values + Small Business = Big Rewards The Auburn Manufacturing Story Johnna Major, SPHR President, Cornerstone HR Kathie Leonard CEO, Auburn Manufacturing Inc.

+ Culture: Is It Important? “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast, Technology for Lunch, and Products for Dinner” – Peter Drucker Great culture is more than perks like free lunches, having a foosball table in the break room, or CEO’s doing cartwheels during employee meetings. Culture = “The operationalization of an organization’s values” -- Edgar Shein, Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management

+ Don’t Leave Your Culture To Chance Airbnb Co-Founder/CEO, Brian Chesky asked for advice from their investors on the single most important thing they could do:

+ The Benefits of a Values-Based Culture Positive, values-driven cultures allow companies to nimbly deal with challenges and transform themselves Hire and promote based on the behaviors that are most important to your company’s success Elicit employee cooperation and commitment with simple values- based systems and processes Easier to trust your employees to make the right decisions and push decision-making down in the organization “Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value”. Lou Gerstner, CEO, IBM

+ The Cost of a Poor Culture Turnover Recruitment costs Temporary help costs Training costs Lower productivity Less innovation and creativity Poor customer service and customer satisfaction Declining revenue and profitability

+ Culture Challenges Through a Company’s Life-Cycle Start-Ups Small, founders involved, don’t feel the need for more formal systems and processes Growing companies Layers of management being added Feeling the need for more process and systems but limited resources Mature Companies Behaviors and elements of culture may need to change to sustain growth or support a new direction

+ Inspiration Ann Rhoades, speaking at Maine HR Convention in 2010 Meeting Kathie Leonard at Women’s Leadership Forum in 2011 How to “Right Size” a Values-Based approach for small companies