Good Comes First - Why attrition can be your friend during culture refinement

Today’s video features Good Comes First book co-authors Mark Babbitt and Chris Edmonds discussing what it takes to build and sustain an uncompromising work culture. Here’s an excerpt.

Mark: Chris, in the book we talk about not just what it takes for leaders to become change champions, but how to build a team that will support, live, model a good comes first work culture. And the reality is this is not always an easy process. It takes months and years to actually execute.

One of the criteria that we talk about is that attrition is your best friend. Not everybody’s going to thrive within a good comes first culture. There will be players that you must lovingly set free. Let them go work somewhere else where it’s okay just to collect a paycheck. Where integrity doesn’t matter. Where values aren’t monitored and measured, and certainly where respect isn’t on the same pedestal as results.

That’s not what you want in a good comes first culture. The premise of a good comes first culture is good people doing good work in a good place to work.

Chris: I’m so taken by some of the conversations we’ve had with leaders. I’ve had a senior leader demonstrate such anger at a player on the leadership team. She said, “He drives performance. His sales team is doing great. But I can’t trust anything this guy says! The next day I find that it’s not truthful, that that’s not honest, that’s not the full story.” It’s an issue of high performance and low values. And I asked, “How long has this guy been here?” “10 years.” I asked, “Have there been good times? Have there been validating times?” “Not enough,” she said. “Not enough.”

Watch this video for the authors’ insights on how holding everyone accountable for both respect and results has such a powerful positive impact.

Good Comes First will be released on September 28, 2021. Learn more and purchase your copy at GoodComesFirst.com.

This is episode two of our Good Comes First video series. You’ll find Good Comes First and Culture Leadership Charge episodes and more on my YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon Podcast channels.

Have you responded to this month’s culture leadership poll? Add your ratings to two questions – it takes less than a minute. Once you vote, click “results” to see the responses from around the globe.

This episode was first published in video form on July 6, 2021 on my website, Driving Results Through Culture.

This is episode three of our Good Comes First video series. You’ll find Good Comes First and Culture Leadership Charge episodes and more on my YouTube, iTunes, and Amazon Podcast channels.

Video production was brilliantly handled by Phelos Productions – Chris Archuleta and David Towers.

Have you responded to this month’s culture leadership poll? Add your ratings to two questions – it takes less than a minute. Once you vote, click “results” to see the responses from around the globe.