Matthew Winant - Blog 9 (4/29/2009)

One of my outside readings was done on a case study that was required of me to read for values leadership. It was a case study written by a former CEO of ServiceMaster, William Pollard, called Soul of the Firm. The purpose of the case was to show the altruistic qualities of a company who's main goal was not to make the largest profit possible, but was to honor God. Pollard says that the company had four objectives, and the first was to “Honor God in all that we do”. Contrastingly, the last objective was to “be profitable”. These ordering of objectives is shown in how the company conducts its business, both with its customers and employees. On many occasions throughout the book, Pollard makes references to employee testimonies on how well the company has treated them and their families, and even more so some testimonies from customers who were dissatisfied with their service and later received full apologies from the CEO himself. The actions of Pollard seem over the top, but his genuine excitement towards loving God in his organization is hard to ignore. To me, the way he conducts his business is the way that all businesses should be run. In America today, the majority of large scale businesses look to have the morality system and values within their organization without being labeled Christians. Pollard is not afraid to be labeled as a Christian, and the non-Christians within his organization are not offended that their boss is not taking into account their personal spirituality. We live in a society today that it is necessary to please everyone, and to me Pollard in his conviction towards his faith and attaching it to his business is something that all companies should adopt, Christian or not.