Covid has taught us that we need real contact with each other. Joly didn't need Covid to teach him what this means for business as he brings it front and center in every page of his book.
Best Buy's (BB) CEO Hubert Joly has written a compelling book which may open the eyes of those focused on a more traditional business approach.
When Joly joined BB in July 2012, the company was limping downhill. Its share price languished around $11, company financial indicators were going south, and BB stores had inconsistent and lackluster customer service. A failing company’s board of directors often hires an outsider CEO to make tough decisions and cut staff. An outsider won't have relationships or affection for the staff like long time leaders. When BB hired a French CEO, Hubert Joly, from outside the tech or retail world (he headed travel business Carson), I assumed it was to close stores, cut employees and pump-up profits
But instead of closing stores and firing thousands of people, Joly took a different approach - one he describes in “The Heart of Business.” Joly’s personal and business journey transitioned from a philosophy of numbers and ‘only results matter’ to leading via a more human first approach. Or as an industrial psychologist taught me early in my CEO career, “focus on people and results will follow.” In fact, Joly began his BB CEO stint by working at a corporate store, traveling and talking to scores of employees.
“The Heart of Business” is not just another business book. It describes a personal journey, the transformation of Joly, BB and even the business community from a shareholder value model to a larger model focusing on empowerment and societal change. It includes research and results bolstering the case of why engaged employees, a diverse workforce and a bigger mission are better than focusing only on revenue and profitability.
We learn about strategic changes, from how and why BB shook up retail by dumping sales spiffs and commissions to how suppliers get retail floor space to why its legendary founder Dick Schulze was brought back. But the main message is Joly's thesis that every business needs a noble purpose to inspire employees.
He says employees are a "source" not a "resource" and each is an individual with hopes, dreams and aspirations which should be heard. He describes changing corporate policy on how health care benefits were expanded to include transgender needs based on listening to concerns of only one employee. He talks about the importance of creating trust and a team environment necessary for success. And he changed performance evaluations to focus on human metrics first, followed by business metrics like customer satisfaction and lastly, financial performance.
Joly describes five key ingredients to shift to an employee focused environment:
-Connecting the individual's search for meaning with the company's noble purpose,
-Developing authentic human connections,
-Fostering autonomy,
-Growing mastery, and
-Nurturing a growth environment.
Each gets a chapter and Joly easily slides in examples, stories, research and results to make his case that motivation comes from purpose and relationships rather than purely from money.
Even for Chicago school economic purists focused only on profitability, this book will give practical tips to motivate people, develop teams and deal with real life human challenges.
BB stock jumped tenfold since Joly took over as CEO. He not only pushed the frontiers of business leadership, but he did it with a coherent set of ethical principles that go beyond traditional financial measures. This book is a must reads it will make any business leader more effective and any person better.
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Ian Mann's book reviews
Try proposing a business turnaround that will convert the loss-making company into a profitable one, by introducing all the ‘soft stuff’ HR people sprout straight after graduation. In response, at best, you will get ‘the look’ – which translates into ‘don’t worry, just one year in the real world of business you will shed all that nonsense.’Author Hubert Joly began his career in the highly analytical environment of a McKinsey consultant, and later served as the president, CEO and director of Carlson, a global hospitality and travel conglomerate. When he left Carlson, he was offered the leadership of Best Buy, a chain of electronics retailers.At that time Circuit City, a one-time giant in the same industry, had filed for bankruptcy and Radio Shack was headed that way. Best Buy’s operational performance had been deteriorating in the US market for several years.Having realized that the attack from Amazon’s low prices was not the problem plaguing Best Buy, nor was the market or digital disruption, Joly agreed to take over the leadership. At the time, Best Buy’s shares were trading in single digits. By the time Joly left, it was trading at $75. In the 7 years he was at Best Buy, they recorded 6 straight years of growth, and earnings had tripled!The most important part of the book is not the strategy he adopted, which proved to be on mark, but the way he achieved superb performance from all levels of his staff – most specifically the people at shop floor level. What is most impressive is that he wasn’t dealing with 100 staff members who needed to be motivated to do superb work, but over 100,00o.Three important messages emerge from the book that is sound advice to every leader.The first is the answer to the question, why do we work? For some it is because work affords one a modicum of power, for others, it may be the accumulation of money for itself, or because the earnings will enable you elsewhere.If these common reasons were good reasons, why did research on 19,000 people over 19 countries indicate that only 16% of workers are fully engaged in their work? If you thought disengagement only applies to lower-level staff, know that only 25% of C-suite occupants are fully engaged in their work. And there is little difference across generations.If you are inclined to dismiss not being fully engaged at work as no big deal, because we are productive anyway, consider this. Disengagement cost $7 trillion in lost productivity globally!Pause and consider this. How would having all your staff fully engaged, doing their very best, improve your business?Best Buy turned large numbers of disengaged people into engaged employees, inspired to care for their customers. They did this by crafting the company’s purpose in a meaningful, human, and authentic way.To get this point, think of how you would help your mother, father, or young sister to choose a computer or TV. Your focus would be on doing what’s best for them, not on where you would earn the biggest commission, or how to get done with them quickly.Best Buy explicitly articulated a “people-first” philosophy. Staff must see themselves as being actively involved in enriching lives through technology, by addressing the human needs of someone’s mother, father, sister or brother. People are celebrated for doing good in the world through their efforts at work without the distraction of chasing the highest commission. That part of the reward system was done away with.Stories of “moments that matter” are captured and shared, and role modelling is encouraged. This spreads the ‘meaning’ of the work one does.How could you motivate your staff in the accounts department to feel good about themselves because of their work? If it works for selling computer games or modems, then your context could surely benefit as well.Best Buy has added another dimension to humanizing work, focusing on the individual staff member. Managers are encouraged to get staff to articulate “their dream.” This is an expression of something that matters deeply to them. An example is a woman who said she dreams of having her own apartment so she can have independence from her family.Her manager’s response to that was “Let’s work together to help you achieve it.” What would it take? What skills did she need to develop to get promoted? How could he help her get there? Having staff sharing their dream with you, requires developing a real, human, connection, one that drives engagement and performance. That level of engagement treats everyone as an individual and ensures everyone feels they belong and matter. In such a place, employees give their best, which is in their best interests, too.Joly reports taking a trip to visit the Best Buy’s operations in Denver, because something special was happening there. Over the course of a year, the average revenue per hour for each salesperson had improved by 10%. Why this stood out and Joly thought it worth investigating, was that level of improvement was unmatched anywhere else and had occurred without any more customer traffic than other regions.What Joly noted was that Best Buy had always looked at improving productivity and performance in aggregate. The manager in Denver had focus on mastery for every single individual, one person at a time. He was developing individuals rather than the mass. He was coaching rather than training, and each person met with their manager once a week to work on practical skills in real-life situations. The focus was on one metric and how to improve it.“We rolled out (the Denver manager’s) approach nationwide,” Joly explains. Until this trip he had believed, as I am sure many of us have, that training was for beginners, and coaching was for remediation.Of course, this is nonsense. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer didn’t fire their coaches when they became tennis champions. A coach can be there to help successful people, even CEOs, to become even better at what they do. This approach is treating learning as a lifelong journey.“Who doesn’t want to keep getting better at what they love doing?” Joly asks.Readability Light --+-- SeriousInsights High -+--- LowPractical High -+--- Low*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2021
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2023
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2021
Try proposing a business turnaround that will convert the loss-making company into a profitable one, by introducing all the ‘soft stuff’ HR people sprout straight after graduation. In response, at best, you will get ‘the look’ – which translates into ‘don’t worry, just one year in the real world of business you will shed all that nonsense.’
Author Hubert Joly began his career in the highly analytical environment of a McKinsey consultant, and later served as the president, CEO and director of Carlson, a global hospitality and travel conglomerate. When he left Carlson, he was offered the leadership of Best Buy, a chain of electronics retailers.
At that time Circuit City, a one-time giant in the same industry, had filed for bankruptcy and Radio Shack was headed that way. Best Buy’s operational performance had been deteriorating in the US market for several years.
Having realized that the attack from Amazon’s low prices was not the problem plaguing Best Buy, nor was the market or digital disruption, Joly agreed to take over the leadership. At the time, Best Buy’s shares were trading in single digits. By the time Joly left, it was trading at $75. In the 7 years he was at Best Buy, they recorded 6 straight years of growth, and earnings had tripled!
The most important part of the book is not the strategy he adopted, which proved to be on mark, but the way he achieved superb performance from all levels of his staff – most specifically the people at shop floor level. What is most impressive is that he wasn’t dealing with 100 staff members who needed to be motivated to do superb work, but over 100,00o.
Three important messages emerge from the book that is sound advice to every leader.
The first is the answer to the question, why do we work? For some it is because work affords one a modicum of power, for others, it may be the accumulation of money for itself, or because the earnings will enable you elsewhere.
If these common reasons were good reasons, why did research on 19,000 people over 19 countries indicate that only 16% of workers are fully engaged in their work? If you thought disengagement only applies to lower-level staff, know that only 25% of C-suite occupants are fully engaged in their work. And there is little difference across generations.
If you are inclined to dismiss not being fully engaged at work as no big deal, because we are productive anyway, consider this. Disengagement cost $7 trillion in lost productivity globally!
Pause and consider this. How would having all your staff fully engaged, doing their very best, improve your business?
Best Buy turned large numbers of disengaged people into engaged employees, inspired to care for their customers. They did this by crafting the company’s purpose in a meaningful, human, and authentic way.
To get this point, think of how you would help your mother, father, or young sister to choose a computer or TV. Your focus would be on doing what’s best for them, not on where you would earn the biggest commission, or how to get done with them quickly.
Best Buy explicitly articulated a “people-first” philosophy. Staff must see themselves as being actively involved in enriching lives through technology, by addressing the human needs of someone’s mother, father, sister or brother. People are celebrated for doing good in the world through their efforts at work without the distraction of chasing the highest commission. That part of the reward system was done away with.
Stories of “moments that matter” are captured and shared, and role modelling is encouraged. This spreads the ‘meaning’ of the work one does.
How could you motivate your staff in the accounts department to feel good about themselves because of their work? If it works for selling computer games or modems, then your context could surely benefit as well.
Best Buy has added another dimension to humanizing work, focusing on the individual staff member. Managers are encouraged to get staff to articulate “their dream.” This is an expression of something that matters deeply to them. An example is a woman who said she dreams of having her own apartment so she can have independence from her family.
Her manager’s response to that was “Let’s work together to help you achieve it.” What would it take? What skills did she need to develop to get promoted? How could he help her get there? Having staff sharing their dream with you, requires developing a real, human, connection, one that drives engagement and performance. That level of engagement treats everyone as an individual and ensures everyone feels they belong and matter. In such a place, employees give their best, which is in their best interests, too.
Joly reports taking a trip to visit the Best Buy’s operations in Denver, because something special was happening there. Over the course of a year, the average revenue per hour for each salesperson had improved by 10%. Why this stood out and Joly thought it worth investigating, was that level of improvement was unmatched anywhere else and had occurred without any more customer traffic than other regions.
What Joly noted was that Best Buy had always looked at improving productivity and performance in aggregate. The manager in Denver had focus on mastery for every single individual, one person at a time. He was developing individuals rather than the mass. He was coaching rather than training, and each person met with their manager once a week to work on practical skills in real-life situations. The focus was on one metric and how to improve it.
“We rolled out (the Denver manager’s) approach nationwide,” Joly explains. Until this trip he had believed, as I am sure many of us have, that training was for beginners, and coaching was for remediation.
Of course, this is nonsense. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer didn’t fire their coaches when they became tennis champions. A coach can be there to help successful people, even CEOs, to become even better at what they do. This approach is treating learning as a lifelong journey.
“Who doesn’t want to keep getting better at what they love doing?” Joly asks.
Readability Light --+-- Serious
Insights High -+--- Low
Practical High -+--- Low
*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works.
Author Hubert Joly began his career in the highly analytical environment of a McKinsey consultant, and later served as the president, CEO and director of Carlson, a global hospitality and travel conglomerate. When he left Carlson, he was offered the leadership of Best Buy, a chain of electronics retailers.
At that time Circuit City, a one-time giant in the same industry, had filed for bankruptcy and Radio Shack was headed that way. Best Buy’s operational performance had been deteriorating in the US market for several years.
Having realized that the attack from Amazon’s low prices was not the problem plaguing Best Buy, nor was the market or digital disruption, Joly agreed to take over the leadership. At the time, Best Buy’s shares were trading in single digits. By the time Joly left, it was trading at $75. In the 7 years he was at Best Buy, they recorded 6 straight years of growth, and earnings had tripled!
The most important part of the book is not the strategy he adopted, which proved to be on mark, but the way he achieved superb performance from all levels of his staff – most specifically the people at shop floor level. What is most impressive is that he wasn’t dealing with 100 staff members who needed to be motivated to do superb work, but over 100,00o.
Three important messages emerge from the book that is sound advice to every leader.
The first is the answer to the question, why do we work? For some it is because work affords one a modicum of power, for others, it may be the accumulation of money for itself, or because the earnings will enable you elsewhere.
If these common reasons were good reasons, why did research on 19,000 people over 19 countries indicate that only 16% of workers are fully engaged in their work? If you thought disengagement only applies to lower-level staff, know that only 25% of C-suite occupants are fully engaged in their work. And there is little difference across generations.
If you are inclined to dismiss not being fully engaged at work as no big deal, because we are productive anyway, consider this. Disengagement cost $7 trillion in lost productivity globally!
Pause and consider this. How would having all your staff fully engaged, doing their very best, improve your business?
Best Buy turned large numbers of disengaged people into engaged employees, inspired to care for their customers. They did this by crafting the company’s purpose in a meaningful, human, and authentic way.
To get this point, think of how you would help your mother, father, or young sister to choose a computer or TV. Your focus would be on doing what’s best for them, not on where you would earn the biggest commission, or how to get done with them quickly.
Best Buy explicitly articulated a “people-first” philosophy. Staff must see themselves as being actively involved in enriching lives through technology, by addressing the human needs of someone’s mother, father, sister or brother. People are celebrated for doing good in the world through their efforts at work without the distraction of chasing the highest commission. That part of the reward system was done away with.
Stories of “moments that matter” are captured and shared, and role modelling is encouraged. This spreads the ‘meaning’ of the work one does.
How could you motivate your staff in the accounts department to feel good about themselves because of their work? If it works for selling computer games or modems, then your context could surely benefit as well.
Best Buy has added another dimension to humanizing work, focusing on the individual staff member. Managers are encouraged to get staff to articulate “their dream.” This is an expression of something that matters deeply to them. An example is a woman who said she dreams of having her own apartment so she can have independence from her family.
Her manager’s response to that was “Let’s work together to help you achieve it.” What would it take? What skills did she need to develop to get promoted? How could he help her get there? Having staff sharing their dream with you, requires developing a real, human, connection, one that drives engagement and performance. That level of engagement treats everyone as an individual and ensures everyone feels they belong and matter. In such a place, employees give their best, which is in their best interests, too.
Joly reports taking a trip to visit the Best Buy’s operations in Denver, because something special was happening there. Over the course of a year, the average revenue per hour for each salesperson had improved by 10%. Why this stood out and Joly thought it worth investigating, was that level of improvement was unmatched anywhere else and had occurred without any more customer traffic than other regions.
What Joly noted was that Best Buy had always looked at improving productivity and performance in aggregate. The manager in Denver had focus on mastery for every single individual, one person at a time. He was developing individuals rather than the mass. He was coaching rather than training, and each person met with their manager once a week to work on practical skills in real-life situations. The focus was on one metric and how to improve it.
“We rolled out (the Denver manager’s) approach nationwide,” Joly explains. Until this trip he had believed, as I am sure many of us have, that training was for beginners, and coaching was for remediation.
Of course, this is nonsense. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer didn’t fire their coaches when they became tennis champions. A coach can be there to help successful people, even CEOs, to become even better at what they do. This approach is treating learning as a lifelong journey.
“Who doesn’t want to keep getting better at what they love doing?” Joly asks.
Readability Light --+-- Serious
Insights High -+--- Low
Practical High -+--- Low
*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of Strategy that Works.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2024
