What Do You Tolerate?
Oranj Fitness, an emerging chain of fitness studios in western Canada, was founded in 2008 to elevate the level of fitness and inspire communities to boogie together. A studio will run 120 or so group fitness classes per week of yoga, dance, tabata, boot camps, spin, and other fun workouts. Their vision of a perfect future is a world where the status quo is boogying. Let’s point out the obvious: their approach to business is whimsical and fun.
Sheila Chutskoff, the owner of Oranj, is a stickler for corporate culture. At Oranj, guest experience is of paramount importance and all cast members are indoctrinated into a language, a way of being, and an attitude. The classes are fun, the studio is impeccably clean, and the guests are treated with genuine smiles and concern.
A great corporate culture takes effort. To be blunt, it’s hard to work for Sheila Chutskoff. In Chutskoff’s mind, working for Oranj comes with a commitment to the small stuff, the hundreds of little things you do and say every day that make up a great fitness environment. Easy would be to tolerate “less than”. Easy would be to let things go and give people the benefit of the doubt. Much harder is to tolerate no breakdown of a system that brings joy and health to the communities in which it serves.
A core question in corporate culture is, “What do you tolerate?” At institute B, we characterize corporate culture as all the conversations that happen in your organization. Think about your work environment. Is it one of empowerment and inspiration? Is it one of tolerated abuse, tension, politics and passive aggressiveness? If work is not getting done as it was originally committed or your environment is not living up to your expectations, ask yourself, “What am I tolerating?”
Corporate cultures are not genetically encoded. They can be shaped and moulded in any direction given the effort required to shape the conversations happening within the walls of the organization. What we know is that leaders who focus on corporate culture are significantly outperforming leaders who do not in financial metrics. Culture Matters to your bottom line.
In the last six years, Oranj has weathered an intense storm of competition in Kelowna. Time after time, new competitors have entered the market and have withered away, leaving Oranj a fixture of the community’s health and fitness industry. Sweating the small stuff matters. Not tolerating “less than” matters.
In Fort McMurray, Alberta, Chutskoff tours me around her 6 month old studio. “I can fit 47 yoga mats into this hot yoga room,” she explains with a smile. The Jenga-like configuration of yoga mats is a testimony to a commitment of creating a corporate culture where guests want to boogie with you.
Written by, Darrell Kopke.