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Organizational Culture

Enhancing and Restoring Our Cultural Soil

Last week I wrote a bunch about the importance of organizational culture—how much difference it makes to be part of a healthy culture versus an unhealthy one, and my metaphorical context of imagining organizational culture as the soil in which we’re working. This week I’ll begin to share my list of things we can do to […]

Organizational Culture

The Importance of Organizational Culture

Over the past 20 or 30 years, organizational culture has become one of the most common topics of leadership discussion. Everyone seems to agree that it’s important. But, as Buffalo Springfield sang back in the late ’60s, “What it is ain’t exactly clear.” Progressive business writer Frederic Laloux says, “Culture is how things get done […]

Customer Service

5 Ways to Set Your Customers Up for Success

Chances are that the way you’re currently serving your customers looks a lot different than it did a year ago. We’ve all had to be agile and flexible as we work to set our businesses and our customers up for success in the face of so many changes and a lot of stress. Although not […]

Managing Ourselves

One Life and Three Sisters

In his lovely new book, A Little Devil in America, Hanif Abdurraqib writes, “There are moments when I question what I am taking in with my eyes and ears, and if it is vibrating at the same pitch as what everyone else is taking in with their eyes.” I can relate. For better or for worse, […]

Ari's Writing

An Imperfect Look at Natural Law #19

John O’Donohue wrote, “The primary world that each of us has to do with is the world that is invisible, that is the interior world within us.” He reminds us, “No one else sees your life in the way that you do.” Here’s a glimpse at a small snippet of mine: I really like working […]

Ari's Writing

Honoring the Awesome in Every Person We Meet

Last week I shared my learning about Natural Law #18—“Everything is naturally related and interconnected”—and how important it is for us to create as many connections across all parts of our companies as we possibly can. Our long-term organizational health and our alignment with nature likely depends on it. More positive connections across the organization […]

Ari's Writing

Natural Law #18

Dr. Vivek Murthy wrote in his book Together: “The more I studied the seesaw relationship between loneliness and togetherness, the more convinced I became of the great power of human connection. So many problems we face as a society… are worsened by loneliness and disconnection. Building a more connected world holds the key to solving these […]

Leadership Development

A Different Approach to Work-Life Balance

Cracking the code on work-life balance can feel daunting at times, especially these days! When thinking about your work life and your home life, as Zingerman’s Founding Partner and CEO Ari Weinzweig has said time and time again, “It’s all one life!” And we couldn’t agree more.  Discover a different (and not-at-all daunting!) approach to […]

Business Visioning

Zingerman’s 2032 Vision

It’s our 50th year! That’s right. The Big 5-O! And the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB) is healthier, happier, and more financially sound than ever. We have continued to break creative ground in the worlds of progressive business, service, food, work experiences, love and care. In an era where electronic interaction is now the norm, […]

Ari's Writing

Starting to Share the Next Set of Natural Laws

About 25 years ago my partner Paul started talking about the idea of Natural Laws of Business; laws that—like gravity—were simply true. All thriving businesses, he suggested, were living in harmony with those Natural Laws. About a decade later I took Paul’s concept and fleshed it out further in Part 1, Secret #1: “The Twelve Natural Laws […]

Ari's Writing

Hope Is in the Air—How Do We Keep It There?

A year ago, on Tuesday March 10 of 2020, we hosted our annual Jelly Bean Jump Up dinner at the Roadhouse to raise money for Safehouse Center. Anxiety was in the air around news of COVID-19, but the dinner went well anyway. I breathed a small sigh of relief that evening, but the relief, as you […]

Open Book Management

The 3 Key Components of Open Book Management

In prior installments in The Guide to Open Book Management posts, you learned what Open Book Management is, The Case for Open Book Management, and if Open Book is right for your business. Next up, an overview of the key components of Open Book Management… Open Book Management is a system used to run the […]