The document discusses alternative business models to the traditional "bosshole" approach of showing no mercy to employees or competitors. It provides examples of Four Seasons and TD Industries, which treat employees well and utilize servant leadership. Both companies appear on Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list and attribute their success to business models that empower employees, satisfy customers, and lower turnover. The document suggests small businesses can also benefit from adopting ethics-focused cultures that respect employees rather than viewing them as tools.

1. How to be a Bosshole: Don’t Model Your Business After These Companies
When you are a small business, you have to think tough. After all, in the jungle only the strong
survive. You need to show no mercy to your competitors and your employees. You have to be a
bosshole.
There are some large and successful businesses that are on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to
Work For” list. They treat their employees with respect and give them opportunities for growth.
But a small business can’t afford to be so goody-goody, can they?
Reducing Employee Turnover to Reduce Overhead
Small business owners need to be able to keep costs down, and employee turnover can hurt a
company’s bottom line. Large companies, such as Four Seasons and TD Industries, have found
business models that lower employee turnover, increase customer satisfaction, and help increase
profits. But, can a small business follow these models and see the same results?
Empowered Employees
Four Seasons is a Canadian-based luxury resort company that was sold to Bill Gates and a Saudi
Arabian prince in 2007 for $4 billion. It has been around since 1961 and had over $36,000
employees in resorts all over the world. How did it become so successful? By treating its
employees, clients and nature with respect.
Many organizations say that they demand employees treat one another with respect. The Four
Seasons, however, enforces that rule. After a major overhaul of management, the company was
able to create an atmosphere where employees understand that they need to treat others the way
they want to be treated, and this includes the guests.
Another change that Four Seasons implemented after careful market research was the way the
organization handles customer service issues. The company discovered that their clients believed
time was a valuable commodity they didn’t want to waste. Therefore, Four Seasons empowered
employees to satisfy customer needs to resolve an issue. They aren’t given carte blanche, but
they are able to do almost anything they feel will make the customer happy.
The result of this reorganization of their business model is that the company has been listed on
Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” since the list was originated in 1998. They have
also discovered that the employees have responded positively to their ethical model. When
employees see a situation, they take care of it and they always strive to give 100%, instead of
minimum effort.
Servant Leadership
The traditional method of leadership has been a hierarchy of management with employees at the
bottom. These employees do what they are told by their boss, who in turn does what he or she is
told by their boss, and so on. The employees have no say in what goes on in the organization,
and are considered tools by management to do what needs to be done to make a business
successful.

2. At TD Industries, the traditional method of leadership didn’t work for them. This Texas
commercial contracting firm utilizes a newer form of leadership called servant leadership.
Servant leadership embraces the idea that management is there to motivate and inspire, but not
dominate. The company allows employees to help make decisions in the company, and the
management team does what it can to help make employees successful as well as the
organization.
TD Industries is not about letting employees go their way without direction. Employees police
themselves and are held accountable for their actions. Instead, those who have the drive can take
the lead, no matter what position they hold in the company.
The result is an employee-owned organization that recorded $308 million in revenue in 2010 and
appeared in the Fortune’s top 100 companies list. The company attributes its success to its
business model and the way that its employees respond to the opportunities the company offers.
Being a Bosshole
Small companies don’t have to follow the traditional, bosshole, business models to be successful.
By retaining qualified, motivated employees, an organization can reduce the company overhead,
tap into a valuable resource, and improve profitability. The first step is to create an ethics code
for the company that is weaved into the organization’s mission statement. It can be as simple as
the Golden Rule, such as the policy Four Seasons adopted for its organization. Or it can be more
complex.
Then management needs to decide how it will enforce this policy, and screen applicants for these
traits. People can learn how to perform many tasks, but the way they treat others and their
outlook on life are ingrained. Seek like-minded individuals and you will find that the culture of
the organization will become what you envision.
Another decision you need to make is how you want to lead your organization. Do you want to
be a traditional company or adopt Greenleaf’s Servant Leader philosophy? Robert Greenleaf has
developed a non-profit organization that helps businesses utilize this new management tool so
that other businesses can model the success of TD Industries, Four Seasons and other
organizations.
So the choice is yours. You can be a bosshole, or you can decide to take a look at a new way of
running a company that is built on respect, empowerment, and accountability. Which do you
think you would want to work for if you were an employee? And which business model would
make you proud of your accomplishments?