The Golden Rule of Business Success

Highly successful businesses as diverse as Trader Joe's, The Four Seasons Hotels, Zappos Shoes, Service Masters, PrairieStone Pharmacy, Harrah’s Entertainment, ING, Harley Davidson, Baptist Healthcare, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Medtronics, Semco Cement, Rackspace Storage and Patagonia have adopted some version of the Golden Rule, “Treat others as you want to be treated,” as the touchstone for their company's philosophy.

Like most truths, it is simple to understand, but difficult to manifest. A person could spend their entire lifetime figuring out how to apply the Golden Rule in the various parts of their life.

I was reminded of the power of the Golden Rule over the weekend while reading an article on Happiness. A 72 year longitudinal Harvard study exploring what makes for ‘a good life’ offered no more surprising or compelling conclusion that the most important thing in life is the quality of our relationships.  Nothing else – not money, not achievement, not status– came close to determining the quality of our lives.

This seems worth noting. The ‘good business’ seems to be no different than the ‘good life’. Its’ goodness is nothing more or less than the sum total of the quality of its relationships.

The history of business shows that companies that have built and sustained their success think more about relationships than transactions. Many companies focus too much on transactions.  About deals. About spreadsheets. About tasks and to do lists. Relationships are nurtured over time. Transactions happen in a moment.

Good business thinks first about relationships.The relationship between the business and its customers. The relationship between the employees and the community. The relationship between owners, management, and staff. The relationship with suppliers.  The relationship between its actions and its impact on the environment.  

Management guru Tom Peters once remarked, "Many businesses forget that all organizations are essentially human.”

One prime example of a company that was founded on and still operates in concert with the Golden Rule is JC Penney. In fact, founder James Cash Penney called his first dry goods and clothing store “The Golden Rule.” He called it the "Golden Rule" for one very important reason. He believed that the Golden Rule applied to all aspects of life, and he intended to build a business using the Golden Rule as his philosophical cornerstone. 

In 1913, “The Penney Idea” was drafted, outlining Penney’s business values and principles. Although JC Penny's has struggled financially in recent years, more than 100 years later, the company’s “Winning Together Principles” still guide employees at all levels, perpetuating a principle-centered business with values that extend far beyond the basic task of generating profits. 

These quotes from James Cash Penney reveal the original values and principles that guided the founder as he was building one of the most enduring retail brands in the history of U.S. retailing are still relevant today. I think the importance of these values are amplified in the era of social media with sites like Yelp and Glassdoor.

• “When this business was founded, it sought to win public confidence through service, for it was my conviction then, as it is now, that nothing else than right service to the public results in mutual understanding and satisfaction between customer and merchant. It was for this reason that our business was founded upon the eternal principle of the Golden Rule.”

• “The friendly smile, the word of greeting, are certainly something fleeting and seemingly insubstantial. You can’t take them with you. But they work for good beyond your power to measure their influence. It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.”  

• “In setting up a business under the name and meaning of the Golden Rule, I was publicly binding myself, in my business relations, to a principle which had been a real and intimate part of my family upbringing. Our idea was to make money and build business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value.” 

• “The Golden Rule finds no limit of application in business.”

• “Honor bespeaks worth. Confidence begets trust. Service brings satisfaction. Cooperation proves the quality of leadership.” 

• “The public is not greatly interested in saving a little money on a purchase at the expense of service.” 

• “Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.” 

• “Profits must come through public confidence, and public confidence is given to any merchant in proportion to the service which he gives to the public.” 

• “We told store managers that, unless they knew their communities and unless they were prepared to enter sympathetically into community life, they could not make a success of their stores.” 

• “A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition.” 

• “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I’ll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I’ll give you a stock clerk.” 

• “Do not primarily train people to work. Train them to serve willingly and intelligently.” 

• “In retailing, the formula happens to be a basic liking for human beings, plus integrity, plus industry, plus the ability to see the other fellow’s point of view.”

All the success,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
Email: petercmclees@gmail.com
Mobile: 323-854-1713
Smart Development

P.S. Smart Development has an exceptional track record helping ports, sales teams, restaurants, stores, distribution centers, food production facilities, nonprofits, and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength, coaching skills and the teamwork necessary for growth. Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.