In this episode of the Culture From The Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Steve Preston, the president of Performance Food Service, Fairfield, Ohio. Steve discusses his leadership philosophy focused on genuine engagement and care for employees. He emphasizes the importance of eye contact, listening, and leading by example. Steve explains the acronym 'CARE,' standing for Communicate, Awareness, Responsibility, and Energy, and how it serves as a guiding principle for creating a positive and engaged company culture. The conversation covers practical strategies for implementing and maintaining a caring culture, including the role of leadership, the significance of communication, and recognizing and celebrating employee contributions.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Importance of Leadership by Walking Around: Engaging directly with team members shows genuine care.
• Role of Care in Culture: The acronym CARE (Communicate, Awareness, Responsibility, Energy) is central to the company’s values.
• Building Authentic Relationships: Regularly engaging, listening, and showing empathy to employees creates stronger bonds and trust.
• Recognizing Positive Behaviors: Celebrating small wins and positive behaviors reinforces the desired culture.
• Consistency and Visibility: Leaders must consistently embody and communicate core values to instill them in the organization.

QUOTES

• "Leading by example, showing up means a lot more to people than dictating to them what you want them to do."
• "It's all about giving a rip about your people."
• "Feedback is a blessing."
• "Do the right thing when nobody else is watching."
• "Energy is very contagious, positively and negatively."
• "If your employees are happy at what they do, that's going to spill over to the customers."

Learn more about Darrell and Larry:

Darrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/

Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/

Connect and learn more about Steve Preston and his works.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-preston-45194494/

https://www.performancefoodservice.com/

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https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring

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https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture

In this episode of Culture From the Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Chris Polek, CEO of Polek & Polek, a distributor of copier and printer supplies to office equipment dealers across the U.S., about “culture from the heart.” Chris defines it as “caring with shared purpose,” describing caring as supporting team members personally and professionally by creating growth opportunities and challenges. He explains the shared purpose as supporting the dealer network to help them be more profitable and align work with a leader’s personal business philosophy, sharing his own: work hard, bring value, and be nice to people. Chris discusses practical leadership habits such as walking around to connect with everyone in the organization and the “three coin technique” to ensure daily positive recognition. He reflects on taking over the founder-led business about 26–27 years ago, shifting from centralized decision-making to empowering employees with autonomy, pushing them to bring solutions, and accepting mistakes as part of growth. He shares that a heart surgery absence tested the company’s culture, and operations continued smoothly because people knew how to handle challenges, with support available from outside resources. Chris attributes significant leadership and cultural development to more than 25 years in the CEO peer group Vistage, where he gained ideas, perspective, and friendships, and he recounts joining after his father declined and a humorous missed first meeting due to a Yankees rainout. He gives an example of involving employees in decisions by piloting a four-day workweek with a bonus program to address overtime fatigue and absenteeism, which employees chose to keep after three months. Chris closes by emphasizing that culture work is ongoing, evolves over time, requires continual attention and refocusing, and is never “done.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Culture from the heart means caring with shared purpose—supporting your people personally and professionally while aligning around a common mission
• The three-coin technique: Start each day with three coins in one pocket, transfer one each time you say something positive to a team member—it's harder than it sounds
• Give team members autonomy to make decisions and get comfortable with them making mistakes—micromanagement prevents organizational growth
• Culture work is forever—it requires ongoing attention, periodic refocusing, and continuous investment, not a one-time initiative
• Personal business philosophy guides leadership decisions: work hard, bring value, be nice to people

QUOTES

• "Culture from the heart is caring with shared purpose."
• "The three-coin technique sounds simple, but you try it. You'll probably get by lunchtime and find you've got all three coins still in that pocket."
• "My personal business philosophy: I work hard, I bring value, and I'm nice to people."
• "People are very capable. They can make decisions. And even when they go wrong, the company is not gonna implode."
• "The worst case scenario is if you try something and it doesn't work out, you can always go back to what you were doing before."
• "This work is forever. It's ongoing, it never ends. It evolves over time—it's not just a quick fix."
• "It's kind of like putting in a new, fresh set of batteries and things shine brightly again."

Learn more about Darrell and Larry.

Darrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/

Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/

Connect and learn more from Chris Polek.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-polek-871205a/

Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.

https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring

Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now!

https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture

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In this episode of the Culture From The Heart Podcast, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Kip Miller, CEO of Eastern Industrial Supplies. Kip shares his journey from starting his career in the 1980s to leading a company that emphasizes caring for employees, customers, communities, and cultures. He introduces the 'four C's' strategy for building a heart-centered workplace culture, discusses the implementation of chaplain services, and recounts the significant impact of community involvement both locally and internationally. Kip offers practical advice for leaders on how to develop a caring culture by starting with small, actionable steps and maintaining intentionality, consistency, and discipline. This episode is a masterclass in operationalizing empathy and compassion within a corporate environment.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Focus on Caring: Creating a culture centered on caring for employees, clients, community, country, and global cultures is vital for long-term success.
• Intentional Actions: Initiatives like chaplaincy services, emergency assistance funds, and community involvement are practical ways to demonstrate care.
• Personal Growth: Leaders must look inward and be vulnerable to set an example for their teams.
• Perseverance: Overcoming difficult times and persevering builds character and shapes a stronger organizational culture.
• Consistency and Intentionality: Commitment to consistent actions and intentionality in caring ensures that a heartfelt culture thrives over time.

QUOTES

• "Do you really love your neighbors as you do yourself? And do you look after their interests just like you look after your own?"
• "We want to care for people in our company. How can they be the best version of themselves that they can be?"
• "It's about being vulnerable and admitting flaws—people relate to leaders who are genuine and open."
• "We can work on building a world-class culture, which we're not there yet. But you can take good and go to better and go to great."
• "Intentionality and consistency in caring actions can transform and uplift organizational culture."

Learn more about Darrell and Larry:

Darrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/

Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/

Connect and learn more about Kip Miller.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kip-miller/

Ready to begin realizing the full potential of your sales team? Hire Great Salespeople with Confidence. SCHEDULE YOUR EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.

https://sellingfromtheheart.net/hiring

Unlock The Power of Team Growth with Learnit’s Live Training Platform. CLAIM your 45-day trial of unlimited training now!

https://www.learnit.com/lp/culture