Noble Enterprise - An Introduction
“What is it about some companies that make them great places to work, great places to do business with – and great successes as business ventures? While many observers look to the outer things that companies and their leaders “do”, we’ve focused on the often overlooked and typically hidden inner qualities that make these companies succeed.
“These companies – which we call “Noble Enterprises” - tap the full range of human energies, not just Mind and Body, but also human Spirit. They manifest those energies through Five Pillars that power Noble Enterprises. In this issue, we look at the first pillar, that of Larger Purpose.
For more about the Noble Enterprise business model, go to http://www.darwingillett.com/noble_enterprise.htm.
Leading with Higher Purpose:
An Interview with MARY LOU ANDRE, Founder and President of Organization by Design
by Karen Jeisi of the
Noble Enterprise team
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Mary Lou Andre is a nationally recognized wardrobe, dress code and corporate image consultant. She is the founder and president of Organization By Design, Inc., a Needham, Massachusetts-based wardrobe management and fashion consulting firm. Mary Lou’s firm, which includes four additional employees, provides image consulting to individuals and corporations to enable people to be more successful by dressing well. She is committed to giving back to the community which is clearly evident throughout the firm’s website, www.dressingwell.com.
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Karen: ‘Clothing makes the man or woman’ is an old expression which always seemed a bit trivial. In your case, Mary Lou, it’s not trivial at all. How have you made a person’s wardrobe more than just clothing?
Mary Lou: Appearance is a reflection of how people see themselves. I work with clients to choose a wardrobe that not only makes them feel good on the outside but also gives them a lift inside, that builds their self-confidence so that they are more successful.
Karen: Conceptually, it’s reasonable to assume that by dressing well, people could feel better about themselves. What is the actual process you use to translate helping people dress better to helping them be successful?
Mary Lou: In simple terms, we work with each client to develop a professional presence, an image that leads to greater confidence that goes beyond how they look to how they perform in the business world.
Karen: When you started Organization by Design, Inc., did you begin with a value system that included a higher purpose beyond helping people with their clothes or did that higher purpose evolve?
Mary Lou: When I started in 1992, I thought that by helping people find the clothes that made them look good I would do more than just help them dress well. However, when I had some success with a few clients, I realized just how powerful dressing people was in terms of enhancing their views of themselves. So, I guess the answer is ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ – I had a higher purpose in mind at the start but that purpose became more defined as the business expanded.
Karen: In sales, there is an emphasis on knowing your client (‘getting inside the client’s head’) to make the sale. It seems that you’ve made a true effort to get to know your clients to support them beyond the sale. Could you describe how you work with your clients?
Mary Lou: At Organization By Design, our client interactions are characterized by the highest respect. We treat every person with equally high quality service. Further, we always aim to give all of our clients the most positive experience.
Karen: Many companies claim to be ‘full service.’ Would you describe Organization by Design, Inc. that way?
Mary Lou: Full service sounds like just a group of services provided together. We do provide an array of services including corporate seminars, professional image training and one-on-one coaching for employees. However, we really believe we have a higher purpose and go beyond ’full service’ by identifying with our clients in such a way that we actually celebrate their successes.
Karen: As your company grew and you added more employees, how did you instill in them the positive values that you espouse?
Mary Lou: I believe that the way employees feel about themselves and their company will be reflected in all of their client interactions. Therefore, I have tried to create a positive work culture, treating each employee as an individual who deserves respect. In addition, I bring my staff together four times a year to celebrate their successes. When they are treated right, their clients are treated right. It’s as simple as that.
Karen: I understand that you believe in the Law of Giving. Could you explain that concept and explain how Organization by Design, Inc. exemplifies it?
Mary Lou: The Law of Giving is a principle I learned from my father. Basically, it’s an attitude of giving of self to help others improve their attitudes, to become more positive, and to lift their confidence. On our website, www.dressingwell.com, we emphasize Fashionable Giving which is believing in “doing well by doing good.”
Karen: Could you explain a little more about Fashionable Giving in terms of your business focus?
Mary Lou: Actually, it was always my vision that my company be civic minded. In fact, in my original business plan, I included community relations. What has happened is that through our efforts to help non-profit organizations and the community, Organization by Design has received positive publicity which has certainly helped our business, although that was not the original intent; we give for the sake of giving.
Thank you, Mary Lou, for giving us a new perspective on dressing well and for your insights into developing a business which demonstrates that operating with a higher purpose can lead to growth and significant success.
Noble BOOKS
In this issue, we describe two recent books that identify and describe a higher purpose. In both cases, it's about higher purpose for both individuals at work and for companies - through the corporate cultures they create that serve a higher purpose and that uplift their employees.
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PEAK: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow.
By Chip Conley, Founder and CEO of
Joie De Vivre Hospitality
Chip Conley is a CEO who’s got it RIGHT! He’s not only applying Maslow. He’s taking Maslow further. And he’s written a book to share these insights with other business owners and executives who seek to understand motivation so they can build great places to work and successful companies. A great read and a great contribution!
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How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else
By Michael Gates Gill
Michael Gill was born into privilege, went to a leading college, rose through the ranks of a leading advertising agency. Then his life began to unravel. He lost his job. He lost his wife and family. Gradually he began losing his sanity. Down on his luck, he went to visit a Starbucks in his old neighborhood. Not realizing that it was “career day,” he was startled when a woman there asked him, “Would you like a job?” All he could think of was the truth: “Yes.” This wonderful book about how the author rediscovered himself at Starbucks is slated to become a movie starring Tom Hanks. Read it – and see it.
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If you have a favorite book you’d like to recommend, let us know.
Noble Enterprise "On the Road"
A wide range of audiences throughout North America are hearing about Noble Enterprise through our keynote addresses and executive seminar. Here is a list of upcoming presentations and seminars, plus a list of recent presentations we've made. (Though the title of each presentation varies, each one includes a description of the Noble Enterprise.)
Fall KEYNOTE Presentations:
QD Technology’s (Marina del Re, CA) conference on “New Ways to Get More Out of Data in the 21st Century” for Chief Marketing Officers and Chief Information Officers – October 29. (By invitation.)
- Thriving in the (emerging) "Real World: Three Trends that are reshaping Business and how you can capitalize on them" – by Dar Gillett
University of New Haven – Center for Human Resource and Leadership Development (New Haven, CT) November 18
- NOBLE ENTERPRISE: Uplifting People and Profits – by Dar Gillett
One-Day SEMINAR on Noble Enterprise:
University of New Haven – Center for Human Resource and Leadership Development – In February 2008
Washington University – Olin Business School Executive Program – in April 2008
Want a presentation or seminar for your organization?
If you would like someone from the Noble Enterprise team to speak at your conference or would like to inquire about our leading a one-day seminar on Noble Enterprise for your organization, please
click here.
Recent Presentations:
Metals Service Center Institute – Chicago, IL
- POSITIVE CHANGE: Tools for Understanding and Thriving in the “Real World”
RedHawk Communications, Inc – teleconference for ethics officers
- NOBLE ENTERPRISE: Ethics as a Source of Competitive Advantage
St. Mary’s University Sobey School of Business – Halifax, NS for the Centre for Spirituality and the Workplace
- The Inner Secrets of Successful Leaders
Noble TIPS for Building Noble Enterprise
In this issue we have focused on Larger Purpose, the first pillar of a Noble Enterprise. By creating or strengthening the Larger Purpose of your company, you help advance your company’s success. A Larger Purpose:
- Attracts people who are motivated by a strong sense of purpose
- Motivates current employees to work together toward that purpose
- Focuses efforts and creates alignment of energy around your company’s purpose
To strengthen the Larger Purpose of your company, you need to address three levels of Purpose – your company’s purpose, the purposes of your individual employees and your own purpose.
Your company’s Larger Purpose: Ask yourself what impact you want your company to have on all its constituents – on a financial/material level, but also on an emotional/spiritual level. Look at your current Mission statement. Does it address all constituents, and for each, does it identify the impact you want at both the traditional financial/material level and the emotional/spiritual level? If not, add these missing dimensions.
Your employees’ Purpose: What do you look for in the people you hire – as employees but also as vendors? Do you only look for knowledge, experience and capability? If so, you are missing an important ingredient. Research shows that those employees who bring a strong sense of personal purpose to work actually contribute more. So find out what purposes motivate potential and current employees, and to what extent those purposes are in sync with the larger purpose of your company. The closer the alignment, the more likely it will be that their strong sense of purpose will translate into superior company performance.
Your own Purpose: What do you see as your purpose in leading your organization? What is the noble, Larger Purpose that you are here to serve in leading your own company? Write that into your own job description, and measure yourself on your progress in fulfilling that leadership role.
When you have defined the Larger Purposes of your Company, have identified the purpose of your employees, and have clarified your own sense of larger purpose, you can now utilize the powerful human energies that working toward this Larger Purpose will unleash.
Our feature article describes one company built on Larger Purpose. For an article “Bringing a Company Back to Life” about the inspiring story of a dramatic corporate turnaround built with the energies of Larger Purpose (plus the other four pillars of Noble Enterprise), click here.
If you would to share a story of Larger Purpose – or would like help building the Larger Purpose of your company, click here.
Coming Soon ...
- News about the publishing of the book, Build and Lead a Noble Enterprise
- An expanded website about the Noble Enterprise
Share the Wealth
We invite you to forward this newsletter to your staff or colleagues. They can then opt in if they would like to receive the newsletter regularly. (Click on "Forward email" below.)
Noble Enterprise Examples
If you have an example of a Noble Enterprise in action (your own or another one), we’d like to hear about it so we can possibly profile it in a future issue of the newsletter. Contact dar@darwingillett.com.
Want to Know More?
If you would like to learn about ways we can help you turn your company into a Noble Enterprise - for the benefit of all your stakeholders and your bottom line, click here. If you would like a free, introductory consult with Dar Gillett, call 1-800-781-3147 or email judi@noble-enterprise.com to set up a time to talk.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Have
a Noble Day!
Dar Gillett
President, Gillett Associates
