“The Golden Rule is an expression of the basic human instinct to bond with others.” – Paul Lawrence & Nitin Nohria

The idea of treating others as you would like to be treated is a centerpiece of the Christian faith and a pillar of most of the world’s religions. From the vision and mission statements you see in corporations today you might think it was a centerpiece in most businesses as well.

Despite the grand statements, most organizations fail at implementing the golden rule in their day-to-day interactions – both inside and outside of the company. 

As we discussed last week, organizations fail at implementing the golden rule because they fail to measure. But some companies excel at making the golden rule a central theme in their daily actions. Who are these firms and how do they do it? That is what we want to discuss today.

Firms like Zappos, eBay, Southwest Airlines, Chick-fil-A, Enterprise Rental, The Four Seasons and Charles Schwab have all found ways to live out the golden rule daily and create thriving companies while doing it. 

The leaders of these companies would tell you they thrive because of their golden rule culture, not despite it.

Zappos is a great example of delivering golden rule experiences to draw customers to them rather than relying on heavy marketing budgets. Amazon acquired Zappos for $1.2 billion (yes – billion) in 2009 when the online retailer was just 10 years old. 

Zappos redirects the money it could spend on marketing toward creating “Wow” experiences that their customers will tell others about.

Zappos routinely ships its products overnight to customers just to surprise them. They call this “delivering happiness.” If you want to have the best customer service call of your life, just dial up the 1-800 number at the top of every page of Zappos website. It is a really refreshing experience.

eBay is another organization that has thrived by creating golden rule experiences for everyone using their platform. Check out this statement from eBay’s website:

“eBay is a community that encourages open and honest communication among all its members. Our community is guided by five fundamental values:

• We believe people are basically good.

• We believe everyone has something to contribute.

• We believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best in people.

• We recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual.

• We encourage you to treat others the way that you want to be treated.

“eBay is firmly committed to these principles. And we believe that community members should also honor them – whether buying, selling or chatting with eBay friends.”

eBay’s founder Pierre Omidyar was quoted saying, “My mother always taught me to treat other people the way I want to be treated and to have respect for other people.”

Compare eBay’s rise to the flat line of AOL that became known for pop-up ads, service failures and their refusal to move to flat monthly fees.

Southwest Airlines and Costco are great examples of companies that put their people first and are extremely successful because of their people.

 Costco shot from startup to Fortune 500 in less than 20 years by taking great care of their people, who in turn took great care of their customers. Costco spent virtually nothing on advertising and marketing as they grew.

I hope that learning about these very successful companies that are applying golden rule principles in their businesses will encourage you to step in the same direction. 

The steps aren’t easy. They will often cost you money in the short term and they are decisions that most of corporate America won’t make. But, if you will take the courageous step towards treating your people and your customers the way you would like to be treated, you can build a great, enduring company.