Our Culture

A couple of weeks ago I had a job candidate ask me the following question: "what factors led to Powell-Christensen's strong record of growth and success." I responded by saying that it was our unique culture.

Realizing, that the candidate was probably looking for a more specific answer, I mentioned to him that certain values and behaviors have been espoused by the company's founders and owners, and over the years the company has tried to hire individuals who embody these values and behaviors. I further explained that as the company has grown, we have been vigilant in preserving and promoting our unique culture.

Let me now fast forward to an experience I had last week. I was chatting with one of our newest employees, and during that conversation the employee asked me some basic questions about the company, including "what makes our company special?" I asked the new employee if anyone had reviewed our company history and core values with him. He informed me that he had been told very little about the company. My mind instantly flashed back to the interview I'd had a few days earlier, in which I had touted our company's vigilance in preserving and promoting our culture. I was very disturbed by the apparent contradiction between the two experiences.

Our history is a collection of both our achievements and failures, it tells a story of where we have been, and more importantly it provides important clues as to where we want to go in the future.

Our core values tell people what we stand for. They do not change from time to time, situation to situation, or person to person, but rather they are the underpinnings of who we are.

Together, our history and core values are the soul of our company. They are OUR CULTURE.

Regardless of how large our company becomes, we can preserve our culture and promote what has always been special about our company. But we can't be complacent, we must be Vigilant.

The company needs your help. I would like each employee to do the following:

1. Go to www.repowell.net, click on the "Who We Are" tab located on the top of the homepage, and review our History, Core Values, Awards and Recognition, and Community Participation.

2. Respond back to me with things that we can do to preserve and promote our culture, history, and core values within our company.

I will gather up and compile your responses. I will then share the full list of ideas with everyone. I will also make a promise that as a company we will utilize some of your ideas to help us do a better job of promoting and preserving our culture.

Thanks,

Tony
tony@repowell.net