Mar 2, 2022
Ralf Specht has been called “a
visionary business leader” by FastCompany Press, and he is the
creator of the Soul System™, a framework that aligns value-creating
employee action with broader corporate strategy through shared
understanding and purpose. Ralf is the author of,
“Building Corporate
Soul.”
Corporate soul means integrity,
shared purpose, shared understanding, and behaviors. Listen in to
learn how “soul” can make a difference with talent attraction
and retention.
Key Takeaways
[4:40] Ralf shares why it’s hard
to execute on value-first behaviors within the business
world.
[8:20] Mission, vision, and
values get blurred a lot. Ralf details how soul and spirit also
play a part in the overall company objective, and how you can blend
them together.
[10:00] Ralf defines what
purpose, vision, mission, and values mean to him.
[11:45] Ralf uses LinkedIn as an
example of how they effectively live out each of these unique
distinctions.
[16:15] Ralf gives three
examples of companies that were purchased because of their culture,
and how they were able to maintain that culture after an
acquisition.
[19:40] Ralf offers ways
individuals can gauge whether their company has a high level of
trust within their culture.
[22:35] For the corporate soul
to really thrive and grow, there needs to be a certain set of
principles. Each chapter in Ralf’s book has “soul-searching”
questions to help leaders explore these unique
principles.
[27:40] Ralf breaks down what
the soul index is and how it was calculated.
[29:45] Patagonia is often
mentioned as a great example of a timeless and impactful company
that lives out its company’s values, but it wasn’t mentioned in
Ralf’s soul index. He explains the reasoning behind
this.
[32:30] There is a great
resignation happening right now. Ralf offers insight into why
employees are really leaving.
[35:35] Jan understands it’s
often hard to develop certain characteristics within people like
drive and curiosity.
[38:35] Ralf shares how
interview candidates can vet and gauge whether a prospective
company has a corporate soul.
[40:35] If you’re interested in
a job position, ask if you can talk to three happy employees within
the company.
[43:00] If you’re always
surrounded by yes-men, you’re not going to really get what you
want.
[44:35] Listener challenge: You
need a great corporate culture to be successful in
business.
Quotable Quotes
- “When I talk ‘purpose,’ I am talking about the
reason for being in business. When I’m talking ‘vision,’ it’s to
imagine a world that does not yet exist. ‘Mission’ is the overall
goal and what kind of product we provide, and ‘values’ are
beliefs/principles that define the business.”
- “Corporate soul means integrity, shared
purpose, shared understanding, and behaviors.”
- “It’s the people in the company who understand
whether the company has got soul.”
Resources Mentioned