In this rough, tough, seemingly heartless, bottom-line oriented world of strategizing for survival through layoffs and budget cuts, don’t you just love it when you come across people who do business with heart?
People who love their work. They get the job done. They really care. They make you feel good. They warm your heart.
It’s great for morale. Great for productivity. Great for overall performance.
During a recent trip to California, I went to visit Paul Mullin, a former University Directories colleague. Paul is now Senior Director for Development at Silverado Senior Living which runs facilities in Arizona, California, Texas and Utah for people with Alzheimers and other memory impairments.
Before going to visit Paul in his office at the corporate headquarters in Irvine, CA, I made a quick visit to their website for directional info. About an hour later, I was still there, thrilled to find another organization that does business with heart.
First there was the story about Edith who became a resident at Silverado in 2001. She was heavily medicated, depressed, withdrawn and only expected to live a few days. One of the caregivers learned that she liked cats and brought Cricket the Cat in to visit with Edith. They took a liking to each other and well…6 weeks later, Edith was out and about with her daughter. I asked Paul about Edith and guess what? She is still living – 9 years later.
Not just living but LIVING.
You see – Silverado isn’t just about caring for seniors with Alzheimers and other memory impairments. It’s about maximizing the quality of life for residents and their families.
Another intriguing discovery from website review was that Silverado has a Chief of Culture and I asked Paul about this during our visit. He proudly told me about one of the first conversations he had with the Chief of Culture, Steve Winner who is also one of the co-founders of Silverado. Steve said, “Your job developing our beautiful communities is important, but always remember that with our programing and people, we could operate out of a barn in the countryside and still be successful. It’s not about the bricks and mortar, its all about our Culture and focus on bringing life to the people we serve. ”
Paul went on to tell me about one of his first visits to a Silverado facility, comparing it to times he had visited loved ones in nursing homes and couldn’t wait to leave. But at Silverado, all of that was different. He said, “I wanted to grab a cookie and stay. I didn’t want to leave!”
LIFE at Silverado is about Love Innovation Family Engagement.
LIFE has been their guide for the last 14 years and there is no sign of resting on their laurels. Part of their vision statement is to “continuously innovate and improve the level of our services, setting the industry standard of care, doing the impossible”, “increasing the quality of care for all people with dementia throughout the world.”
Is that doing business with heart or what?
And it doesn’t stop with residents and their families.
They also strive to provide an outstanding workplace and rewarding career paths. Seems they get good marks in this area as well. They have been frequently recognized as a top place to work. For example, they are recognized as one of the Top 100 Best Workplaces in Texas. And are ranked 6th (medium sized category) in Orange County, CA Top Workplaces.
So there I was sitting in one of their workplaces with Paul and right there, up front and center on his desk was a plaque that read: “LOVE > fear”.
I asked him about it and his eyes lit up. He explained that it served as a reminder to deal with situations and problems head on. To not be afraid of making mistakes. To not be afraid of admitting mistakes.
It was obvious that he found inspiration, direction and support in this company-wide mantra.
Wow! What a wonderful visit with former University Directories Sales & Management Star, Paul Mullin who certainly did business with heart in his UD days.
How thrilling to see him land in a place like Silverado.
Thank you, Paul. And thank you, Silverado. For doing business with heart.
Links to more information:
See also: Doing Business with Heart
Jan has been in the business world for over 30 years as a salesperson, manager, business owner, coach, teacher and writer.
She coined the phrase “doing business with heart” 10+ years ago to describe people who love what they do and are serious about making their businesses successful and profitable, but not at the expense of doing anything but caring, really caring about and for all stakeholders. People who do business with heart make you feel good. They do good work. They warm your heart doing business with heart.
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