I just received an email from Mick Fleming, who with his wife Lucy owns and operates The Lodge at Chaa Creek and whom I‘ve known since even before Chaa Creek was a small family farm the Flemings were trying to support themselves with.
Goes to show what hard work and perseverance will do…
Anyway, Mick’s a man of few words, so when I get something from him I pay attention. He forwarded an excerpt from an article titled, “Truly Great Companies Add More Than They Extract”, by Tony Schwartz that obviously struck a chord with him.
Reading it, I thought, “This is so Chaa Creek” and defines the sort of business model the Flemings have always operated under and goes hand in hand, I believe, with everything else that’s made Chaa Creek such a success on so many different levels.
So, at the risk of embarrassing Mick, I thought I’d share it here, as it applies not only to a successful business, but to a worthwhile life.
Check it out:
“To be great, a company must add some sort of positive benefit in the world with its products. Similarly, a company that fails to pay its employees a living wage, or to treat them with care and respect, can never be considered great.
Greatness also requires a company to treat its customers with the same care and respect, in part through an unwavering commitment to excellence in the products it produces, and fairness in the prices it charges for them. A great company must also take seriously its continuing responsibility to the communities in which it operates, and to the planet, on whose resources it depends. Above all else, great companies must add more value to the world than they extract.”
Yeah…
Wouldn’t it be great if all companies followed Mr Schwartz’s dictums?