The Care & Feeding of a High-Performance Culture

Posted as an excerpt from Aspatore Book Series' 

"Inside the Minds", a division of Thomsen-Reuters

The Care and Feeding of a High-Performance Culture

Mark de Gorter

President

Power Plate North America

Introduction

Power Plate International is the leader in the application of Whole Body Vibration as a means of enhancing people’s lives through exercise and wellness. The modality is based on Newton’s second law of physics (force = mass x acceleration) and, unlike traditional strength-training exercises that use weights (mass) to apply force to the body, we hold mass constant (which in essence, is the individual’s own body weight on our machines) and instead increase acceleration at rates on a vibrating platform of between twenty-five and fifty times per second. This produces an involuntary muscular response to movement, triggering a reaction in the muscles at that same rate—twenty-five to fifty times per second, which in turn stimulates up to 95 percent of all muscle fibers compared to as little as 40 percent using traditional methods. And because we use the individual’s body weight instead of externally applied weights, we reduce stress on the joints and bones, creating a more safe form of exercise—especially for older people and those just beginning an exercise regime. The net-effect of this modality is accelerated results in a fraction of the time it takes to use traditional fitness equipment, with less chance for injury, increased circulation, flexibility, bone density, and proprioceptive benefits. It is a disruptive technology that is being used by world-class athletes, celebrities, and people from all walks to live more active, independent lives. The company is based in Irvine, California, and currently does business in over one hundred countries globally.

As president of Power Plate Americas, my role is to lead the organization’s business in the North America and Latin America regions. But more importantly, I see my job as helping people live more active, healthy lives. Within this role, I hold four key positions—communicator, decision maker, leader, and manager. The communicator role involves keeping the press, the industry, the community, and various other outside stakeholders informed in a way that positively influences our organization and brand as well as our internal team members and board. The decision-maker role involves high-level decisions about policy and strategy. In my leadership role, I keep senior management informed, motivate our associates, and drive change within the organization. As manager, I guide the day-to-day activities to meet and exceed our financial objectives.

Our business is growing in North America as people become more familiar with the benefits of our training modality. But it was not always the case.

Setting the Tone for the Organization

There is an old saying, “A company’s culture is difficult to change; it is embedded in the carpet and the drapes.” So that is the challenge I found myself in when I took the job as president of Power Plate North America. I inherited an organization plagued by revenue shortfalls, heavy spending to establish market presence, and with it, poor financial performance leading to a blame-oriented culture and constant fear of failure. The company was ultimately forced to shrink the business and downsize the organization; with those changes came a morale problem that permeated the entire infrastructure. The final nail in the coffin was when the company’s board of directors made the decision to relocate their headquarters from Chicago to Southern California, and with it, a reduction in force from nearly seventy-five employees to just over ten—most of whom had been hastily hired to fill various support roles in this new environment. That is when I joined the company. Welcome to your new job, Mark. Now, please set about turning the business around.

About the Company’s Culture

At Power Plate, we strive to create a performance-based culture rooted in meritocracy. Because we are a relatively small organization, we don't have the burden of an overly bureaucratic structure and instead allow professionals with an entrepreneurial focus, intensity, financial rigor, and a sense of accountability and teamwork to rise. We celebrate diversity, both from a traditional definition of gender and race, as well as differing backgrounds and points of view. As such, we can assemble what I call “the quilting effect” of different perspectives to ensure we never get complacent and succumb to the status quo.

I'm always on the lookout for good ideas and completely indiscriminate as to the source. Our marketing team is creative and a constant source of good ideas, but they do not have a corner on that market. Good ideas come from all sources in the organization, and at Power Plate, we celebrate good ideas, no matter the source. Our leadership team members each have just one brain—no matter how fertile. So I try to enhance the probability of getting good ideas by listening to the ideas of others. If we listen to twenty people, we have multiplied their creative capacity twenty times. At Power Plate, the best ideas win, regardless of who brings them to the surface.

Keeping everyone engaged in the development and execution of business-building ideas pays dividends. We improve processes, because the people closest to the process know what it takes to make them better, and are encouraged to not only bubble up ideas, but in most cases are then given the opportunity to take control and make their suggestions and recommendations happen. They become personally invested in the success of an idea, and I've learned that once a team member is personally invested in driving a solution, they will invariably see it through to a successful completion—not only because it improves the operation of parts of the organization, but their reputation as a solutions provider can grow as well.

Leading by Example

I believe that to create a thriving culture, you must not only lead the culture, but also embody it throughout the organization. For me, that means to strive to be the best at what I do, and simultaneously strive to become the second best at everything else. Obviously I will not (and cannot) be the best at all other areas within our organization but by striving to become the second best, two good things can happen. First, I will better understand their roles to the point where I can demonstrate empathy to the individual challenges of the position earning the respect of the team members I am working with, and second (and probably more important), I more fully understand that which I can and cannot commit the company to in the event that the “expert” is not in the meeting or on the call, saving time, money, and embarrassment. I extend this approach by encouraging all team members to take the time to gain insights into other aspects of our business so that a deeper understanding and respect can be gained among the members of the organization. Understanding and respect contributes to an appreciation of the challenges that we as a group face, and as such, find that our people are less apt to operate in a silo of information.

Another important area for me is to make sure I always visibly wear the company colors and wave the company flag, which for me means committing myself totally to the company’s products and services. I try to personalize the company’s culture, and continue to try to add to it. I make sure I use the products and promote them tirelessly everywhere I go, and we strongly encourage our team members to do the same. Fortunately, fitness and health is something we are all passionate about here at Power Plate, and we work hard to create an environment that promotes this passion among our teammates. For example, we have a fully-equipped training academy on-site, and allow team members to use the equipment throughout the day, which they do. Because our technology allows people to obtain benefits in as little as ten minutes, there are no set times they can use the equipment, and no restrictions on taking a short “fit stop” break during the day as a totally natural, holistic means to staying sharp. It is common to have groups of team members working out together during the middle of the day, which fires up the culture on so many levels—the social aspect of exercise, its ability to provide overall health and wellness, and the fact that it is our business. All of this strengthens the bonds of culture within the organization, and I am frequently right in the middle of it, working as hard as everyone else. That goes a long way.

I am a proponent of Daniel Goleman and the concept of “emotional intelligence”, also commonly referred to as EQ. As such, I focus more on attunement versus alignment in our company and in relation to our goals and strategies. Alignment suggests something mechanical, as if everyone is in a patterned lockstep. We like to think that people perform better when they are attuned. Being attuned to the vision and strategy arouses passion; it is more than simply making people aware of the strategy itself—instead we want people to connect emotionally. A vision that tunes people in goes further and deeper than simply getting them to “line up” to the direction, and binds people more powerfully than any dry strategic plan. And we know that getting our team to embrace the passion behind the organization is what drives our culture on many levels.

Instilling the Corporate Culture

We work to instill our company culture from the beginning. We try to hire people according to the three I’s: integrity, an “I can do it” attitude, and intelligence. Then we invest in them, or overinvest in them. By that, I mean it is important to attract, motivate, train, and reward the best. Companies that “save money” by hiring only the people they can afford are on the road to mediocrity, if they are not already there. We overinvest with emotional currency as well—we give our team members trust, independence, freedom, praise, and encouragement. We know that people in our organization make things happen. But people only give back what they get. If trusted, they trust back. If respected, they respect back. People will accept intellectual, physical, and cultural flaws in leadership, but they do not flourish under a leader who demonstrates “anti-people character.” I am very proud of the team we have assembled here at Power Plate. They are truly exceptional individuals—each one possessing high water marks on the three I’s. I'm constantly impressed with the quality of thought, the passion, the creativity and excellence they bring to the company and their teammates and I never get tired of saying how privileged I feel to lead such an amazing group of professionals.

The Importance of Taking Risks to Solidify a Culture of Trust

We know that to be successful and to maintain our approach to industry leadership and disruption of the status quo, we need to take risks. We allow our team to take risks as long as they approach the process with forethought and intelligence. And we do that by differentiating between what we call “abject failure” versus “noble failure.” Abject failure is when there is no clear market opportunity, no background or strong facts to support the idea, cross-functional teams are not engaged, or worse, good advice is ignored. The concept is poorly executed and when it fails, they ask, “What happened?” By contrast, noble failure is when someone has a good idea and it addresses either a well-defined or opportunistic market need. It has been researched, our cross-functional teams have been engaged, and it is well executed, but for some reason is not as successful as planned. So we step back, dissect the effort, and learn from it. At Power Plate, we believe one cannot learn from mistakes they never make, so we do not punish noble failure; we learn from it, and encourage our teams to continue to pursue disruptive ideas to drive our business.

Communicating the Company Mission and Values

We don't put posters up on the wall to communicate our mission, vision, and values because unless they embody what is part of the organic DNA of the company already, they just take up space and everyone comes to know they are simply a form of insincere cheerleading. Instead, we support and celebrate our approach to performance in three areas. First, we hold ourselves accountable to one another through weekly, monthly, and quarterly review of what we call “the vital few”—those key business drivers that are critical to our success. Focusing in on the vital few ensures that our collective objectives are connected among both departments and individuals, which allow us to eliminate the “meaningless many” that can cloud perspective and grind an organization down.

Next, we encourage team members to actively embrace the culture by “walking the walk.” Because we are a fitness and lifestyle company, we want our people to take part in personal challenges of health and fitness that give them both a sense of accomplishment and a link to our purpose as a company. To do that, we have an initiative here called, mPOWERd 2012, where the company subsidizes, either whole or in part, associates in their pursuit toward enriching goals designed for personal and professional self-improvement. If it is fitness-related, it is an immediate approval. If it is along a different avenue of personal or professional enrichment, we review them and decide accordingly. This works on many levels as they become deeply engaged in our company, our products and services. And the proven by-product of a healthy and fit lifestyle is better, more productive associates, which dovetails with our culture here relative to performance—both in and away from the office. As we progress through the year and our team takes part in their challenges—from marathons, to triathlons, to 10K races, and even just meeting a goal to get in better shape—the entire organization cheers them on. So we have engagement, esprit, accomplishment, and celebration; all linked to events that are fundamental to our company’s mission, vision, and values. Not every organization is fortunate enough to be in the healthy lifestyle business, but I believe every organization can find a way to rally around the ability to link their products and services with their cultural true north toward deeper integration. It works well here at Power Plate.

Finally, to keep the team connected weekly, we hold “Fitness Fridays” where we dress down into fitness apparel and take breaks throughout the day to either workout as a group or take short “fit stops” to stay sharp. I also hold informal “how ya doin’?” conversations with selected team members at lunch to keep my antenna up on what is working, and what might not be working. I realize that as president, I can become a lightning rod for a range of issues that need addressing. I also understand that not everyone is going to feel comfortable opening up to me on perceived problems. However, staying connected in a loose, informal manner at the end of the week helps me keep my finger on the pulse of the underlying current in our company. As part of all this, I also make sure to never compromise trust and confidence directly; rather, I try to take in everything I see and hear, and when appropriate, weave suggestions and solutions based on the general climate.

Measuring the Health of the Company Culture

We do not have a system to “formally” measure the health of our culture at Power Plate. I don't believe it is the kind of thing that can be formally measured. We don't conduct surveys; rather, we track our culture perhaps more subjectively, by assessing the attitude, spirit, and teamwork of our associates. Is the workplace energized? Are we hitting our goals? Are people coming in early and staying late? And, are they coming in early and staying late because they are excited and stimulated, not because they feel they have to? If there are objective measures we use to gauge our culture, it is in both turnover and outside submissions. Turnover, or the number of people voluntarily leaving our company, is virtually nonexistent. In the two-and-a-half years since I joined, we have had two people voluntarily leave the company, and one was a new receptionist. In terms of outside submissions, we get a tremendous amount of résumés and calls of interest looking for opportunities to come to work at Power Plate. I attribute that to our industry, our brand, and the identity we have created through our communities and social media. We have many people that want to join, and few people leaving. To me, that is the best measure that our culture is thriving and headed in the right direction.

Implementing Change

If drastic change to the culture is necessary, once again, it is just like the old saying, “you have to change the carpet and the drapes.” Which means you will likely need to bring in a new team, or at least people at key leadership positions that can raise the bar. Two good things happen when you do—those that have been toiling in an unhappy, unproductive culture but are looking for stimulation will rise up to the new environment and will likely do some pretty amazing things. Those that cannot keep pace, or will not keep pace, will self-select out of the organization. In essence, that is the sequence of steps that I took when I started at Power Plate. Of the team that I inherited when I started, only three remain today. We have levered up the talent virtually throughout the organization and hired into roles that place a strong emphasis on the cultural aspects we have discussed throughout this article.

Fostering a High-Performance Culture

All CEOs understand the importance of a thriving culture to drive a successful organization. But there can be speed bumps along the way that can derail even the most well-intentioned efforts. I have found—through experience—that you need to understand and accept that many in the organization will not share the same level of passion, commitment, and sacrifice that a CEO does for his or her company. Specifically, I have learned the following:

Don't assume that just because you do not hear things are bad, that they are necessarily good. For many organizations, the heartbeat of culture resides in the core group of associates that keep elements of the business going every day. If the company does not have an individual or group of individuals charged with driving a high-productive culture, it is up to the CEO to lead by example, as I have mentioned. The trouble is that few people in the organization at the “heartbeat” level feel comfortable being honest with the CEO if things are not positive; they simply do not want to be perceived as malcontents. So just because a CEO is not hearing it does not mean there are not simmering issues below the surface. To stay in tune with the culture, the CEO needs to be an active listener, and frequently query close confidants that have their finger on the pulse of the organization. And it may not be one of the CEO’s direct reports—in fact, often it is not. It is usually the person, or persons, with the high EQ. But it is important to develop that informal sounding board that can let a CEO know when things may or may not be spinning out of balance. So they need to both understand that silence may not be golden, and to seek out the high EQ people in the organization to stay on top of the underlying current.

Another mistake is assuming that the employee base eats, sleeps, and breathes the company. Because most CEOs do, it is easy to assume others should feel the same way. But just because teammates may not share the same intense level of commitment and passion for the organization that the CEO does, does not mean they cannot be a part of a thriving culture. People have their lives—they have sick kids, teacher conferences, weekend picnics, family and social obligations, and in many cases, strive for a balance that allows them to “turn off” when they leave the work environment. Not too many CEOs have that luxury. Understanding that you can have a committed culture without everyone on the team putting in the hours that you do as a CEO is critical to understanding that a performance culture can—and does—exist for many companies by existing differently at different levels. As leaders, we hear the term “balance” a lot when learning about what drives successful team dynamics in the workplace, and that means many simply are not interested in checking email on weekends and giving up birthday parties for conference calls. It is important to recognize and respect that in practice.

Finally, if there are employees that simply do not buy into the purpose of the organization and the culture that one is trying to foster, it is important to recognize that the individual will become poison to the organization, and the sooner they find another place to be, the better. Keeping people that either resent the direction, or may be bitter because of a situation that took place—real or perceived—is a recipe for disaster when it comes to creating a thriving, positive, results-oriented culture. You can sometimes see it as a seed, but left unchecked, it soon becomes a large tree, digging roots throughout the organization that insidiously short-circuits all attempts to move the group into a positive space. If you sense that there are those in the organization that are not buying in, pull them aside for a frank discussion as to their concerns and why they may not be seeing the eventual big picture. Share the vision and the excitement it can bring. And if they still cannot climb on board, move them out as quickly as possible. You cannot afford to have the difficult work of developing and fostering a high-performance culture sabotaged by those with a different agenda.

Advice for CEOs

Successfully fostering a positive, results-oriented culture starts with building trust. You have to start with what I call the “3 Be’s.”

Be Humble – You cannot pretend to know it all. If you come off as a know it all, you will get nothing in the way of feedback. Which means you will end up tone deaf to the needs of the organization. If you are humble, and admit you don't know everything, people will step forward. People like to give advice, and if you're willing to be humble and listen, you can learn a great deal about how things are working and if you need to step in.

Be Authentic – If you want to drive a results-based culture, you must live the culture yourself. If you pride enthusiasm, you need to exude enthusiasm. If integrity is critical, you must carry yourself that way. It has to come from within; if not, everyone will see through it.

Be Honest – Sometimes it is tough to tell the truth, especially when things are challenging and the future is in question. All companies go through that. But by telling the truth about what is happening with the organization—good and bad—you begin to build trust in the team and confidence that the leadership group is focused on the things that make a difference. The corollary to this is that you also need to make it safe for others to tell the truth back. That honest exchange of information and proposed solutions, no matter the source or group involved, can begin to establish an environment where there can be a shared responsibility to the organization and to each other, and the seeds of teamwork can be sown.

Through the sought-after good times, and the inevitable rough times, it is important that CEOs strive to create an environment where people genuinely enjoy their work and, dare I say, have fun on the job. Business is tough enough not to have fun. Your teammates will spend more waking hours of their day with you and their associates than they will with anyone else, including their families. If you work to make the jobs of others fun, they will work harder and more creatively and feel more satisfied with their careers and lives. A working environment that is constantly blood-and-guts, pressure and seriousness is stressful and inefficient. At Power Plate, I believe if we can maintain a sense of humor and lighten the mental load, we can have a motivated, happy team. A sense of humor is a mark of intelligence and one of the “I’s” we strive to hire to. So far, that has paid enormous dividends to the organization and the ongoing enrichment of our team.

Conclusion

To create a thriving culture, a CEO must embody it throughout the organization. I completely commit myself to the company’s products and services and try to personalize the company’s culture. I use the products and promote them tirelessly everywhere I go, and strongly encourage our team members to do the same.

To stay in tune with the culture, the CEO needs to be an active listener. It is important to develop that informal sounding board that can let a CEO know when things may or may not be spinning out of balance. If there are employees that do not buy into the purpose of the organization and the culture, the sooner they find another place to be, the better. Hire people according to the three I’s―integrity, an “I can do it” attitude, and intelligence―and allow professionals with an entrepreneurial focus, intensity, financial rigor, and a sense of accountability and teamwork to rise. Good ideas come from all sources in the organization, and at Power Plate, we celebrate good ideas, no matter the source. Once a team member is personally invested in driving a solution, they will invariably see it through to a successful completion

Key Takeaways

• It is important to recognize when an employee does not buy into the purpose of the company and the culture. This type of attitude can become toxic and has the ability to quickly permeate the entire organization.
• Allow employees to take risks as long as they approach the process with forethought and intelligence.
• A fun work environment is highly motivating and fosters creativity.
• A results-oriented culture exists by building trust. A successful CEO must be humble, authentic, and honest.
• It is difficult to formally measure a company’s culture. Stay tuned to the vital signs and try to enlist those in the organization with high EQ to help keep on top of the general direction.

Mark de Gorter, president of Power Plate North America, is best known for his creative, results-driven approach to leading organizations in both top-line and bottom-line performance. His passion for building ideas within a strategic context and branding them—from products, to services, to strategic partnerships and even lines of businesses—combined with a penchant for collaborative team-building and crisp execution, has been the cornerstone of his success in helping organizations reach business objectives and team members achieve a sense of growth and professional development.

Mr. de Gorter’s career spans nearly three decades in the sports, fitness, and leisure industries, characterized by broad business background and success in senior management, marketing, sales, and business development roles.  His proven track record extends to a variety of business environments, from start-up and early stage companies to billion dollar organizations. Along the way, Mr. de Gorter has delivered results in turnaround, growth and mature companies, and his success in leading teams in diverse industries, companies, and cultures has provided a depth of experience he has used to apply as best practices in challenging situations, where success had previously been absent.

Mr. de Gorter is currently president of Power Plate North America, the industry leader in health and wellness products featuring Whole Body Vibration technology. At Power Plate, his responsibilities include running the business operations for the company in the United States, Canada, and Latin America, as well as holding the dual position of chief marketing officer for the Global organization. In addition to Power Plate, his corporate background includes J.Walter Thompson Worldwide, Bally Total Fitness, L.A. Gear, NTN/Buzztime, and Velocity Sports Performance.  During that time, he has held positions in the advertising, product marketing and services marketing areas, as well as president/chief operating officer for a division of a publicly traded company, where he led the repositioning of the division through change management and growth initiatives to improve the business performance, ultimately raising market capitalization of the company from $18 million to $83 million during his tenure.

Mr. de Gorter holds a BS in business administration with a marketing concentration from California State University, Northridge, as well post-graduate work with the Institute of Advanced Advertising Studies at USC through the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

When Mr. de Gorter is not being energized by developing and implementing compelling strategies to achieve results, he is active in community youth sports organizations and sits on the board of advisors for Brag Stats, an early-stage company that combines youth sports and social media as a means of building a thriving online community for young people and the International Council for Active Aging (ICAA), whose goal is to change society's perceptions of aging and improving the quality of life for Baby Boomers and older adults within the seven dimensions of wellness (emotional, vocational, physical, spiritual, intellectual, social and environmental). He also donates his time as a volunteer for Augie’s Quest, a nonprofit organization conducting a fight to find a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).