73: How to Improve Company Culture Amid the Great Resignation

When you hear the words “company culture,” what comes to mind? Workplace culture is a hot issue these days, especially as it relates to jobs and the so-called “Great Resignation.” What do employees really want: freedom, tangible perks, a more inviting company culture? CEO and Entrepreneur Jay Steinfeld shares his story of success and expertise when it comes to corporate culture.

“If you want to do things of consequence, if you want to build consequential things, I think you must first help people become consequential.” - Jay Steinfeld, on improving company culture.

On today’s episode of the Taxgirl podcast, Kelly is joined by Jay Steinfeld to chat about corporate culture and the impact it can have on a company’s workforce. Jay was the founder and CEO of Global Custom Commerce, which operates the world’s number one online window covering retailer, blinds.com. Jay bootstrapped the company in 1996 from his garage with just $3,000; Global Custom Commerce was acquired by The Home Depot in 2014. Jay remained the company’s CEO, and later joined The Home Depot’s Online Leadership Team.

After stepping away from these roles in early 2020, Jay has increased his involvement in numerous private company boards and serves as a Director of the public company, Masonite. He also teaches Entrepreneurship at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, and supports numerous charities. Jay is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and has earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Houston Technology Center.

Listen to Kelly and Jay talk about company culture and the Great Resignation:

• How did Jay start his business, how did it grow, and how did he make a name for himself in the booming world of tech and entrepreneurship?
• Jay says he frequently tells entrepreneurs to “experiment without fear of failure.” Experimentation is necessary and key to evolving and growing any venture. When he began his company in the 90’s, it was before even Amazon was born. He built his business one step at a time, and gave himself permission to fail.
• The idea of failure can be terrifying for small businesses because of the heavy stakes on the line. How does Jay advise small or startup businesses to experiment and take risks with confidence?
• What does Jay wish he’d known before he started his business in the 90’s?
• How did Jay approach hiring decisions while growing his business? How can business owners know when to expand hiring, even when finances are tight?
• Did dynamics change when Jay sold his business to Home Depot? Jay shares how the transition went: the CFO said they’d expected him to get tired of them and quit after 90 days, but Jay stayed on for 7 years after the acquisition.
• Jay explains the idea of business “love languages” and how to find harmony with team members of different strengths, disciplines, and personalities.
• When Jay’s company reached significant milestones over the years, how did they impact the company (and the way Jay ran the company)? Jay details his definition of success and the way it informs his strategic choices in both workplace culture and business operations.
• Kelly asks Jay to describe the moments when he “felt” successful along the journey of growing his business. He shares he felt many of those moments over the years, though sometimes the impact of his success came to him retroactively.
• As the head of a growing business, Jay says he often felt he was seen as intimidating or scary, which greatly bothered him because he genuinely wanted everyone’s voice and feedback.
• How does Jay feel employee’s thoughts on their superiors plays into today’s Great Resignation? What advice does he have for companies to make their management teams more approachable and receptive?
• Jay says what people want most is autonomy. Why not give more generosity to employees? More traction, more upward mobility? More transparent conversations? More training?
• Conversations on workplace culture and employee benefits are happening in board rooms all over the country. Does Jay think the focus should be more on internal culture shifts, or on concrete employee perks?
• What is Jay up to now that he’s stepped down from The Home Depot? He says, “I’m not retired, I’m rewired.” He’s released a new book, Lead from the Core: The Four Principles for Profit and Prosperity. He’s teaching Entrepreneurship, he’s on many company boards, and he’s a grandfather.

More about Kelly:

Kelly is the creator and host of the Taxgirl podcast series. Kelly is a practicing tax attorney with considerable experience and knowledge. She works with taxpayers like you every day. One of the things that she does is help folks out of tax jams, and hopefully, keep others from getting into them.

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