Inspiring Minds
I’m a huge student of great companies and great leaders.
(I know that comes as a huge shock to those of you who visit here frequently 😉 )
Today our staff headed down to Financial Peace Plaza in Franklin to see what Dave Ramsey and The Lampo Group are up to. Rated one of the best places to work in Middle Tennessee, I wanted to see how this organization stacked up to my experience at Zappos a couple of weeks ago. I was equally impressed with The Lampo Group. While not the outrageous experience of Zappos, the environment created by Dave Ramsey and his team made it obvious to me why landing a job at this organization is such a big deal.
What I observed:
- Sleek, neat, professional environment in EVERY area of the building
- Fierce loyalty to vision
- Constant celebration of milestones and successes (both for the organization and the people they serve)
- Relentless pursuit of excellence and growth
- A balance of confidence and humility
- Consistent recognition of God’s favor
These two quotes/formulas were displayed on their walls and give a great glimpse into the values of their culture:
“Focused intensity over time multiplied by God’s power creates an unstoppable momentum.”
“Momentum plus unity with the power of God creates waves over obstacles equaling emergence.”
As we wrapped up our tour, our entire staff was invited to pray with Dave before he began his afternoon radio show. We circled up in the hallway and prayed together before he stepped into the studio. What an honor! I was amazingly moved by the power and influence this man has in our culture and how he is unashamedly pointing to this faith and the power of the Gospel. So impressive!
What leader or organization has most inspired you recently?
He actually shared this at a talk radio conference two February’s back. In my mind, it’s totally one thing to create a company around that mindset and not be ashamed of it. But to walk into a talk radio conference and tell a room full of secular (and by “church standards” quite hedonistic) radio business people and say this is the key to our success; it was quite impressive.
What I find interesting is that if you talk to people who have been in the radio business for some time, they will say that when Dave first “arrived on the scene” most thought he was a bit crazy and that it would never work. Goes to show what the momentum principle can do even in the face of criticism and skepticism.
Glad y’all had a great time.
@Andy – thanks for sharing your insights. That’s awesome that he used that quote at a radio conference. That was one of the things we were most impressed by was how strong his faith is woven into the culture of the organization. He really does give God the credit for their success.