Better We, Better Week, October 7, 2024 – People & Culture: Our Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Great Morning Team!

Two weeks ago, on a Thursday morning, my day began with these words:

“And then ultimately, most importantly, and I think this is my number one job by far, is we needed an amazing team and culture. We needed a high-performance culture where everybody was aligned, rowing in the same direction, excited about the work that they were doing and growing every single day. Because if you can build that kind of team and culture, you can do anything.”

                                                                           ~Eric Frank, President & CEO, E&I Cooperative Services

I was wide-eyed and leaning in with every word spoken, 11 minutes into an incredible E&I Cooperatively Speaking Podcast titled: “From the Great Depression to Great Progress: Celebrating E&I’s 90^th Anniversary”. I discovered it by clicking on the link to the podcast in one of the e-newsletters I subscribe to that is sent out to our members by our Marketing team. From the time I clicked “play”, through 27 minutes later, I was completely mesmerized and inspired. It was a fantastic conversation between David Manz, Business Partnerships Manager, Facilities & Interiors, (who could easily and flawlessly sub in as a professional voice over for anyone), and Eric Frank.

Eric took the time to talk about our rich 90-year history, and our progress made leading us to where we are today, as well as discussing our vision, and strategy. Within both vison and strategy was the conversation of culture and why building an amazing team, along with the need for a high – performance culture is critical. He shared why people & culture is the most sustainable, competitive advantage, creating limitless opportunities for our organization and our members, far beyond what other companies are capable of. Additionally, Eric shared the core characteristics of what makes up an amazing powerful culture. The components he described is no mystery. It is everything we are working on together to become 1% better each day.

While I won’t give away any more details of this incredible podcast, I will say this: Whether you are a New Hire or have been here at E&I for years, and you are wondering what really matters most organizationally, listen in.  If you remain curious as to why a growth mindset is critical here at E&I, listen in.  If you want to know why the work we are doing together to build trust, to build communication skills matter, and why we need to continue to experiment, “trying stuff” and failing well to help us learn and grow every day is so important in our high-performance culture, listen in. If you are wondering how it all impacts the work we do every day to serve our members that are educating the future of our world, and changing lives for the better, please, listen in. (Click here for Podcast)

WE are the culture, and WE can make a difference for the better. The future, OUR future, is now! We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback about this podcast in the comments section below.

Wishing you all a Better We, Better Week! 😊

Thanks again,

Lori Beth