At the heart of every great leader and extraordinary company is one simple yet impactful principle: love. Love for your customers and employees transforms drudgery into passion, teams into families and customers into raving fans.
Love is not just a feel-good idea; it is the foundation of successful and profitable businesses. Love drives you toward service leadership and a desire to fulfill the deepest needs of your clients. By doing this, love pushes your business to the next level.
You can’t love your product more than your customer
In our business and leadership coaching events, we teach that the biggest mistake that most organizations make is falling in love with their product or service instead of falling in love with their ideal customer.
It’s understandable. You have invested so much time, thought and energy into your company that it feels like your child. But the trap people fall into is that they become so focused on themselves and their business that they can’t see or hear what their customers really want. In other words, they fail to pivot.
“Falling in love” with your ideal client means that you understand, anticipate and consistently fulfill their deepest needs and desires. Any business can be competitive, but the companies that dwarf their competition are the ones that develop incredibly high customer loyalty. They create raving fans.
“Do more for your customers than anyone else and maintain that standard consistently.”
YouTube started as a video-based online dating service. It would have been lost and forgotten if it had continued to see itself only as a dating site. Instead, the founders realized that customers really wanted a platform for sharing and viewing videos of all kinds. They shifted their business model to meet their customers' needs, and YouTube became the world’s largest video-sharing platform. It was eventually acquired by Google for $1.65 billion.
Instagram began as a check-in location-sharing app called Burbn. Unlike other check-in apps, Burbn allowed users to share photos as well. After evaluating their own app and observing the success of photo apps like Hipstamatic, founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger decided to pivot and build a photo-sharing app with social media capabilities. They anticipated what their ideal client really wanted and created a dominant social media company that was eventually acquired by Facebook (now Meta) for $1 billion.
Service leadership
True leadership is not based on power or position but on your ability to influence others. It inspires, motivates, and brings out the best in the people around you. True leadership is service leadership, and it can’t be faked. When you genuinely love your employees and are passionate about your vision, people notice and respond in kind.
Many of us spend more time with our co-workers than with our families. That is a testament to our passion and dedication. It also begs the question—don’t we owe it to ourselves and our team to create an empowering, connected and heart-centered culture? This kind of company culture, one with conscious leadership, opens the door for people to bring their best to work. It acknowledges each team member’s unique gifts and skills and gives them the trust and autonomy to use those skills in pursuit of a shared vision.
Leadership is not a trait that some people are just born with. It is a skill that you can learn, develop and hone. Because a leader’s psychology is the biggest chokehold on a business, it is an asset worth investing in. Leadership and management coaching can bring out the best in you and the best in your team.
When you create a culture where team members feel valued, supported and seen, they will be excited to come to work each day. You’ll see increases in productivity and creativity. Problems will just be stepping stones to growth. You’ll have employees who aren’t just punching a time card; they are invested and loyal. You’ll have a raving fan company culture.
Raving fan company culture
Creating a raving fan company culture goes beyond meeting expectations; you must exceed them. Loyalty and passion are the result of genuine connection. Employees need to feel connected to the people they work with, and they need to feel connected to and invested in a greater vision or purpose.
People find fulfillment when they are a part of something bigger than themselves. When you connect your work with a bigger mission and then give employees ownership over that vision, you’ll find that they exceed your expectations.
"People are not just working for a paycheck; they want to feel they’re part of a cause."
Zappos's mission is “delivering WOW,” and it has given its employees a huge amount of autonomy to accomplish that mission. Employees can go above and beyond for customers, offering surprise upgrades, free shipping, hand-written thank you notes and more, usually without managerial approval. Zappos believes that happy and empowered employees lead to happy customers who come back again and again.
The power of a “jackpot”
As a leader, you can follow Zappos's example by giving your employees autonomy and ownership and offering unexpected, purposeful rewards.
These unexpected “jackpots” can create more loyalty and enthusiasm among employees than a regular bonus.
When it comes to motivation, love and rewards always win over fear and pain. A jackpot takes a reward to the next level, adding an element of surprise. It can sometimes be connected to a big breakthrough, but it is most effective when it comes completely out of the blue.
There was an ad agency that would host regular holiday parties, but a few times a year, the boss would stop work in the middle of the day, bring in caterers and musicians and have an impromptu party just for fun. It boosted company morale far more than any other party or scheduled bonus.
Tony Robbins has used “jackpots” to show his employees how much he cares about them. Once, he brought all his employees to a large mall and told them, “You all have $500—you have to spend it on yourself right now.” Another time, he hired a man dressed like James Bond to track down his employees and deliver their bonuses in a cash-filled briefcase.
It’s great to surprise your employees with financial incentives, but this isn’t always sustainable for all companies. However, you can still foster a workplace culture filled with love, playfulness and joy by rewarding employees with expanded autonomy, surprises and experiences.
Leading with love
Love is not simply a personal or emotional concept; it is crucial for building trust, fostering growth and driving success. It is the most powerful way to create lasting impact as a leader. Leading with love means that you believe in your employees and are committed to helping them grow. Customers, employees and coworkers can tell when you genuinely care about them; when you do, they will respond with loyalty and commitment.
Leading with love is a strategic investment in your future success. Executive leadership coaching can help you hone this type of leadership, develop a vision for your company and connect with your employees in meaningful and impactful ways. With the assistance of a professional coach, you can learn to lead effectively with love, unlocking the potential for extraordinary results in your life and business.
