Part 2: Something Is Missing From Your Business.
Ritual and ceremony. Their roots are ancient. These practices are part of every society and culture from prehistoric times through the present day. If we consider our work place as part of our culture, what constitutes the ceremony and ritual that people crave and need?
Think for a moment of all the opportunities to create ritual and ceremony that are overlooked:
1) Hiring a new employee could come with an all-company ceremony that involves introducing a new worker to the current force and passing on the principles of working within the business. Create your own ceremony and repeat it; it will become legacy and will promote bonding of your employees as everyone will have experienced it when they joined the company themselves.
2) At events and annual outings (Christmas party, summer picnic, etc.), create a ritual and ceremony of recognition for various outstanding efforts not necessarily associated with income production, but for things such as community service, company service, good nature, attendance, etc.
3) Have an annual event that is all about ritual and ceremony. Make it up, take risks. Everyone will appreciate it and look forward to it as it becomes part of the common experience for all involved and part of the fiber of life in the community which is your business.
Maybe these opportunities are best taken at the beginning or end of a business season, if you are in a seasonal business. Maybe they are better suited as annual events. Build them around core values—your values—and lead the way. They may even be, dare I use the word, “spiritual”… not religious, but spiritual. The time has come, and we all know it. Even the roughest employee knows deep down that spirituality counts. Make this part of your heritage, legacy and foundation, and your employees will become part of your company culture. Their role in your company will no longer be “just a job” to them but will instead be a fully integrated part of their lives, an important, satisfying part that cannot be easily replaced.
This is what the new age is about—quality of life. Make it happen and your business will rise to the top.
