Experience has taught me that it’s important to view your business on a broader scale. Your company is not only influenced by the people who work with you, but by a circle of families that shape every employee’s life. When you know who’s waiting for your team members to get home every evening you understand who they are as a person and you can find ways to counsel them, encourage them, and ultimately increase overall productivity—at work and at home.
Every year at Christmastime, the SP team and their families come home to Birmingham and spend a weekend together celebrating the season and seeing old friends. To do something special last year, everyone brought their families to our campus to spend a Saturday afternoon planting daffodils. We had more than 1000 daffodil bulbs imported from Holland with the idea that the flowers would come up every year and continue to multiply, providing the place with a sense of regenerative beauty and giving everyone a chance to bond in a unique setting.
We planted 4 different varieties of daffodils all over the campus, the primary type being a Carlton Daffodil, a two-toned yellow flower with a vanilla fragrance. Thalia Daffodils (a bright white flower), Spanish Bluebells (a violet-blue hue) and Geranium Daffodils (a white flower with an orange center) create a mix of colors and blooming times.
Everyone had a blast. Longtime employees got to see old friends. Newer team members got to meet the spouses and kids they’d been hearing stories about. And in the end our work brought about something lasting our entire corporate family can be proud of.
