“There is a quote that is often attributed to Darwin (whether Darwin actually said it is up for debate, but I believe the general principle to be true): ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.’ I believe the same is true for companies, and especially for entrepreneurs.” Tony Hsieh, the CEO for Amazon’s Zappos, said this in a recent article in Investor.com.

Let’s face it, many of us are in the people business. Our industry is very much a people-driven industry. Self-preservation driven by self-serving approaches do not work. It is faulty at the customer level and it is even more damaging at the employee level. Great companies invest a lot of time and resources into their products like we do but the key is to pair that with doubling down on the client experience and the staffers who service them. A happy client culture, with extremely pleasant user experiences and staffers who are equally as happy make for one heck of a winning situation for all. The “secret sauce” is not only to have great talent, great products and listen to your customers, but also to be willing and able to change when needed. Constantly seeking out opportunity to get better is a winning approach. Don’t shy away from criticism. Embrace it, listen to it. Once validated, don’t get defensive and strike back, strike out and do something to make the change happen. Here at Data Age this approach is woven into the fabric of our culture. 

Before you can expect great things from your people you need to understand what “great things” means to them. Again, listening is a can’t-miss. Once you’ve estabilshed what motivates them, you can educate and help facilitate their efforts to reach the heights they’ve chosen for themselves. Input from our clients is paramount but input from our staffers is also critical. For over twenty-eight years, our company culture here has been that of great passion. To be the best in the world but have a boat load of fun along the way. Our teams have not only contributed to developing the industry-leading products our PawnMaster brand is known for but also to the service we provide. We even embrace the little things like our company-wide involvement in product naming conventions such as “Ignite” — the only true cloud product in our industry, TxTPawn and so many others.

We want our employees to feel like, once they cross the threshold into our offices, they are entering room in their own homes — a place where they belong. This approach will see our employees becoming happier and more productive.  Moreover, this approach will have our customers seeing and hearing the passion and care resonating from the folks supporting them.” We hope you take something away from this to use in your shops too.

 {{cta(’22ea5a6c-ca1b-4ed9-b342-f9789e31692e’)}}