BUILDING YOUR CULTURE
Why Bad Decisions Are As Critical As Good Ones
Business is hard. Arnie Malham, founder and president of cj Advertising, understands this thoroughly. But the challenges that make business hard are more than just obstacles—they are the foundation to building and strengthening a culture that attracts the best people to do the best work.
To invest in your people is a return on investment in your business, and in Worth Doing Wrong, Malham covers strategies for investing in your employees by banding together to smash business goals, creating win-win relationships, generating buzz, and building a rockin’ workplace.
Table of Contents:
FOREWORD by Joe Calloway ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (But Not For...) INTRODUCTION Take Care of Your Culture (Before It Takes Care of You) Respect Your Employees Invest in Your Employees Embrace Top-Down Core Values Generate Unavoidable Culture (Go Big!) Hire for Culture Do It Wrong, Make It Better, Get It Right Never Give Up IN CLOSING AFTERWORD APPENDIX I Referenced Authors and Leaders APPENDIX II Arnie-isms APPENDIX III Visual Culture
About the Author :
ARNIE MALHAM created a small side venture to help a few clients market beyond just the TV station while selling TV airtime at a local affiliate. That venture ultimately got him fired and quickly became his best and only career option.
Without a clue as to how to run a company, Arnie repeatedly “got it wrong” when it came to hiring, firing, and everything else related to building a business. Armed with his belief that different is better than good, outliers are fascinating, and mind-set is everything, Malham persevered.
Thanks to hundreds of business books, dozens of patient mentors, and a universe conspiring to help him, Malham stumbled upon a bold, culture-first approach that gave his fledgling company the momentum it needed. cj Advertising grew to become the largest full-service brand-building agency in the country… exclusively for law firms. Malham has since leveraged his cutting-edge culture to launch two other businesses, Legal Intake Professionals and BetterBookClub.com.
Malham lives in Nashville with his wife of more than 20 years, two stubborn but awesome teenagers, and his trusted dog Katy. When he’s not working to improve the cultures of his three companies, Arnie can be found on his side porch enjoying a decent cigar, an affordable scotch, and an inspiring book (usually all at the same time).
Review :
“Finally! A book without theory and concepts. Arnie Malham supplies market-proven tactics that build a winning business culture. Worth Doing Wrong is the playbook for profits with a smile.” —JACK DALY, best-selling author, Hyper Sales Growth
“Malham has shared with the rest of the world the mystique of the incredible cj Advertising culture that every business needs to know and learn from. If you want a culture that produces passion, fun, creativity, and is all about the customer, read this book. Have all your people read this book.” —JOHN R. DIJULIUS III, author, The Customer Service Revolution
“Your organization has a culture. And it is running your business right now. The question is this: Is your culture by default or by design? Arnie Malham will make you think and rethink what the most important operating system in your business is—your culture. This book is a game changer.” —TOMMY SPAULDING, New York Times best-selling author, The Heart-Led Leader and It’s Not Just Who You Know
“Malham built a thriving business in the most unimaginable niche. In this book, he lays out his secret: pick a strategy that others think is wrong...then make it right. If you want to build a business that will uniquely impact the world, learn from this book.” —KAIHAN KRIPPENDORFF, founder, Outthinker
“Arnie is the real deal when it comes to culture. His book is full of real-world experience—he actually lives this stuff with total passion and it works! If you want to positively impact the culture of your company, you must read this book!” —BARRETT ERSEK, founder and CEO, Holganix; author, Harvard Business Review, “Break Your Industry’s Bottlenecks”
“Success in business is often rooted in a fascinating culture. Worth Doing Wrong isn’t just theory, it’s a real and practical guidebook to creating a sustainable culture that rocks. In an age of distraction, disruption, and declining engagement, culture by design is an advantage you can’t ignore.” —SALLY HOGSHEAD, New York Times best-selling author, Fascinate
“A Players” deserve to work in an “A Culture.” Leaders looking to run their teams at full power will benefit from Malham’s creative ideas and sage advice. —RANDY STREET, co-author, New York Times best seller Who: The A Method for Hiring and Wall Street Journal best seller Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success
“Arnie Malham is the master of workplace culture. He’s learned from real-life, in-the trenches, raw, people-to-people experience. I’ve learned so much from him, and you can too!” —RORY VADEN, cofounder, Southwestern Consulting; New York Times best-selling author, Take the Stairs
“For all the talk about the Googles and Facebooks of the world, what about us mere mortals trying to scale up a midmarket firm? Where do we get role models to help us dominate our industry while creating a wonderful culture for our people? Arnie Malham has done just that. He openly shares, in a quick-read form, his best practices and mistakes made in scaling up cj Advertising—a firm which is number one in its niche. And he’s built a company of leaders along the way—a place where everyone can learn and contribute and feel a vital part of cj’s success. This is your how-to manual for scaling up a successful and fun organization.” —VERNE HARNISH, author, Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0); founder, Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO)
