The Built to Serve Movement
The business model in place today is a stagnant holdover from the Industrial Revolution. Worker bees place round pegs in round holes while management handles profit margins. Dan Sanders believes the time is ripe for another workplace revolution, one that is driven by culture and synergy. A business must be about more than prices and profits. It must be instilling a sense of higher purpose in employees where providing quality service comes naturally. At a time when globalization has shrunk the world, Sanders wants business leaders to think big when it comes to motivating people in a highly competitive environment.
That is the overriding message of Sanders’ book, Built to Serve, which frames his leadership principles and beliefs in the culture of a successful family business that has excelled in customer service for more than nine decades. Built to Serve isn’t just another business book; it offers an appealing alternative that culture can and does drive the bottom line. It is a matter of conscious choice by the leader. Sanders’ work delves deeper because of his unique background in an industry of razor-thin profit margins.
In an easy-to-grasp manner, Sanders describes a profound shift in the American business marketplace from profit and price to a culture that drives the business’ economics. Sanders has experienced this firsthand at United Supermarkets, which has prospered from its fundamental belief that people must come first.
The book’s message reminds readers that mankind has a basic need to serve others. Work makes a difference in the lives of people, and the most successful organizations are those built around people who identify with their mission to the point that it becomes part of their very essence. Working in a culture defined by what Sanders calls the higher purpose adds value to employees and those they serve.
Built to Serve boldly travels a ground-breaking path similar to those explored by such gifted authors as Dr. Stephen R. Covey in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Jim Collins in Good to Great. Each of these books was responsible for creating a sea change in the way the business world operated. Sanders advocates a similar shift. Bottom line is not about profit and price; it is about choice and culture.
