Located 6 miles from the Canadian border in the town of Warroad, Marvin Windows and Doors is a family business company with 105 years of family leadership. The Marvin Companies is a multigenerational family business that continues to lead with values and purpose. While listening to its CEO yesterday Paul Marvin at Bentley University, I learned how the company survived the 2008 housing crash without cutting any of its 4000 employees. The company cut salaries across the board and reduced the number of hours work by full time employees to 32 hours to remain solvent. The actions taken by the leadership caught the eyes of then President Obama who mentioned the company during his 2012 acceptance speech.
In reality, the decisions made by executives in period of stress reveal a lot about their personal character. I am always amazed when I see our first reaction in period of crisis is to reduce the number of employees, but executives rarely think about cutting their baffling high salaries or benefits. Far too often, the failure to plan for unexpected situations or to adapt is the reason behind this decision. However, opting to use employees as a scapegoat is a choice; one that soon or later reveal a failure in leadership and the character of our organization.
The long-term viability and success of your company will depend your ability to live up to your values. Knowing what matter most has helped the Marvin family fulfill their mission of enriching the space and place where their company operates. Doing the right thing and being successful are not mutually exclusive as stated by Paul Marvin. Nevertheless, it is sad to see that too many executives fail to realize that leadership play an important role in developing institutional values. Their respective decisions never give credence to their organization stated or assumed values. An executive become a leader when he takes ownership for interpreting and managing the value of his organization. These values become the set of assumptions that inhibit or unleash your employees. What you tolerate, not preach and your decision in period of stress, will show what really matter to you and your organization.
Leave a Reply