The most successful work cultures have strong relationships and admired leadership.

Have you ever been employed at a successful place of work, then had it flounder and almost fail, and then had it rebound?

If yes, the issues may have been related to relationships, and most often it’s the relationship with leadership. We’re sure you’ve heard “People don’t quit jobs, they leave bad bosses” and also that the best places to work rank leadership highly.

Gaco, a family-owned, second-generation building products manufacturer went from being highly profitable to one that came close to filing for bankruptcy, yet they turned it around. Below are excerpts from a post from Vistage Worldwide, Inc.

Gaco’s 16 key ingredients for success:

1. PEOPLE: Hire great people. Human capital is the most important capital you have.
   
2. NOT ABOUT YOU: As a leader, nothing is about you; everything is about your folks.
   
3. CULTURE: Create a great culture that gives your folks a reason to give their all.
   
4. WIN: It was all about winning. Every day, every person, in every way possible.
   
5. CELEBRATE: Celebrate every victory publicly and companywide. WE WON!
   
6. FOCUS: Decide who you are and what your business is at its core. One sentence, only a few words.
   
7. STRATEGY: Decide on your strategy. Make it simple, only a few words.
   
8. REINFORCEMENTS: As a leader, get out of your own way, understand your strengths, but more importantly, your weaknesses, and hire to fill those gaps. Mind the gap.
   
9. ASK: Never tell — just ask more questions that allow your folks to come to their own conclusions.
   
10. INCENTIVES: Create incentives that provide a focus, a goal, a target, a common rallying cry.
    
11. LOVE: Love your people; do the soft stuff — they are your ticket to ride.
    
12. TRUST: Be transparent, painfully so.
    
13. CORE VALUES: Live and breathe every day your core values.
    
14. PULL THE TRIGGER, THEN AIM: Well, not really, but trust your instincts.
    
15. FIRE THE LAWYERS: They are up to no good.
    
16. STRETCH: Establish outrageous goals — stretch plus crazy goals — that energize and excite your folks. If you do the other 15 items here, you will get there.

Gaco called these ingredients their “secret sauce”. You may not be able to apply all of them, but they’re certainly worth reviewing to see which may help your work culture, your relationships, and your place of employment succeed!