Driving Culture Change with Jason Lippert

How do you change company culture when the values of the CEO evolve? 

We all understand that to grow as a company, people need to embrace change. Yet a lot of us fear change because it requires us to work on ourselves. Which is uncomfortable. 

But here is the truth, when you fear change the business will outgrow you and then change becomes inevitable!

Guest Bio: Jason Lippert, President & CEO of LCII

Jason has helped grow the company from $150 million in 2003 to over $5.1 billion  with over 12,000 team members world-wide.

Jason has initiated a cultural transformation within the company known as Everyone Matters. 

To stress a truly human culture in the business, he implemented a Culture and Leadership team who strives to grow the company’s team members through  coaching and working on personal and professional development.

 Problem:  

• Changing culture Story
  • Didn't realize there was a problem until he was enlightened by Bob Chapman's Ted Talk (Truly Human Leadership)
  • allocating resources to culture development/change
  • Hired someone to own culture
  • 2013 - 5k people

Challenge today?

• A lot of tenured people resisted
  • Produce good results, I don't need to change
  • Front lines of the business
  • Show up, get work done, and go home

• A lot more personal transformation
  • One person was in a bad place in her life and was contemplating suicide.
  • Leadership cared enough to start working with her and demonstrated that they cared. 

Why is this important to the company?

• Main driver 
  • He was working in a different space, running fast and hard
  • It felt empty
  • Praying to god to discover his purpose. 
  • Mentored by the speaker
  • Learned that there is a different way to win

• Business Impact
  • More people decide to show up here tomorrow. Compelling to be here 
  • High retention
  • Profitability from $1B-$5B over the 10-year span

Rick’s Nuggets

• Core values are driven by the CEO 
• How you act filters down

How do we solve the problem? 

• Push into change
  • Required leaders to get evaluated behind core values
  • Teaching becomes 
  • Attrition - terminations, resisting and bowing out. 
  • Had to exit some high-level leadership positions
  • Didn't want to be coached or change

• 88% of people work for a company that feels that the company does not care about them
  • It made sense to execute on culture that has an immediate impact
  • A lot of people bowed out
  • When they replaced the people who did not resonate with the culture did more damage than they realized
  • Every time a person left the company, people rejoiced
  • Fear of speaking up- They are always listening

• Surprised him
  • Winning more than before but impacting people in the community, people's lives
  • Transformation of people's family lives because they are treated better
  • How devastating bad leadership has on people's family lives

Rick’s Nuggets

• Make the commitment no matter how much resistance
• It has to be REAL 
• You have to live the values

Key Takeaways that the Audience can plug into their business today! 

• No matter how big, someone needs to own culture and leadership development. As serious as any other function of the business. Telling everyone that this is important to us
• Take time to goal set with every person in the business- front-line team members
• Brings passion and energy to the business - competitive advantage, people stay longer because they care more.

Guest Links:

• LinkedIn: Jason Lippert
• Company: Lippert Components
• Facebook: Lippert

Host Links:

• LinkedIn: Rick Girard
• Podcast: Hire Power Radio Show & Podcast
• Company: Intertru
• Book: Healing Career Wounds - with HireOS Method

Follow the Hire Power Radio Show on LinkedIn. 

Guest referrals: andrea@stridesearch.com