Find Your Torchbearers
When an organization is still in the small, startup phase, it's not hard to have employees that each feel like they have a stake in the company and are willing to rally behind it. As the company grows, however, subsequent employees get distanced from management and from company success, so it is easier for them to treat the job less like their own undertaking, and more like a paycheck. Too many employees treating their work as just a job will end up affecting company culture and ultimately, product. Identifying and rewarding torchbearers helps to ensure that the cultural message is effectively conveyed and carried out at all ranks.
I witnessed a prime example of this last weekend when I was, of all places, in a bar. Not just any bar, this was a "trendy" place that specialized in exotic drinks crafted by "mixologists". We sat down at the counter, and began conversing with the mixologist, who was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and obviously took much pride in his craft. When I didn't like the first drink I ordered, he offered to "surprise me" with the next one, and made me one of the most interesting concoctions I've ever had. Needless to say, we were sorry to see him go when his shift ended and he was replaced by a listless bartender who barely spoke a word.
The first mixologist, Steven, was a torchbearer. The interactions with him defined the experience for us, the customers. It's easy to imagine that his enthusiasm for the job rubs off on many of his coworkers (with the possible exception of the bartender that replaced him), and elevates the quality of the entire establishment. Employees like him are by far the most valuable, and must be retained even at high[er] cost. The idea of paying every worker the same is fine if you consider your employees to be commodities, but for a truly differentiated business, this shouldn't be the case.
