Successful Companies are SMART & HEALTHY

This is a philosophy - which I've learned from Patrick Lencioni - is something I not only believe in but want to help others achieve....specifically the healthy side. Check this out.! Here's a company, reported by Fortune, paying whose employees get paid in the TOP 25 in the country:

25. Robert W. Baird & Co.

Average total pay: $117,650

For: Financial Analyst*

Best companies rank: 11

Milwaukee-based investment advisor navigated through the financial crisis without having to resort to layoffs. In fact, it increased its staff 10% since 2007.

Aside from total compensation averaging six figures for salaried employees, Baird offers:

• 37.5 hour work week for hourly employees.
• Bonuses and profit-sharing for all employees.
• An opportunity to buy stock in this privately held firm. Nearly half of employees have done so.
• Free investment planning for all employees.
• Bonuses that range from $1,000 to $10,000 for referring a new employee.

"Baird cares about their associates very much," says one employee. "This place is like a second family."

Applying Boundaries to Business

I've been lax on blogging in the last few days as we have spent significant time preparing for some large events and the management team is concentrating on putting our learning about boundaries to work...literally.

We are learning that you can't create and maintain boundaries without generating some type of conflict: whether overt or covert conflict. Albert Einstein said, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." We are finding that few conflict ever just work themselves out - they just won't go away. Ignoring conflicts are lethal. The longer they fester the more likely they are to drain energy from more than just the parties involved.

What's the lesson? Resolve conflicts quickly. The old adage is true, "Never leave a nail sticking up where you find it." The speed in which the culture of the business addresses conflict will be the speed by which the business cultivates a healthy culture.