Mehran Assadi introduced his philosophy of mission-driven business leadership this week to a group of executives assembled by The Conference Board.
In a keynote address at the Conference Board’s Third Annual Strategic HR Conference, Mehran told executives that they need to clearly define their companies’ mission and why they do what they do.
“It’s really important since this is the thread that holds the fabric of an organization together,” he said. “And when everyone who works for and with you can define it, you get alignment and you get results.”
He explained how National Life focused almost 10 years ago on its own mission and distilled its values to six simple words: Do good. Be good. Make good. And then over the past decade, the company has made those values central to what it does as a business and as a community member.
“To help a team march in the same direction, you need to not only model behavior but make your ‘why’ clear,” he said. “Everyone who works at your company should know its why. Tell them often and in many ways.”
And then employees need to be given opportunities to live the values at work and in the community, through volunteer programs at nonprofits and through exemplary service to clients, he said.
The presentation got a great reaction on social media. “@AssadiMehran sharing an inspiring story about transformation @NLGroup. Simple message: do good, be good, make good,” Stela Luposhor wrote on Twitter.
Added Rebecca Ray: “Servant leadership tenets from @NationalLife …Simple, powerful .” She included a photo of a slide with our servant leadership tenets.
Mehran’s success at creating a mission-drive, purpose-filled culture at National Life has gotten a great deal of attention recently. Last year, best-selling authors Jackie and Kevin Freiberg wrote CAUSE! A Business Strategy for Standing Out in A Sea of Sameness, a book that focused on National Life.