Episode 150 - Mark Peters | Be The Source: Building a Mission and Culture Committed to Enriching the Lives of Your People

Do you want to build a culture that enriches the lives of your people? Are you committed to building a business that’s truly people first? Do you want to grow your leadership to have more impact in your business and the world?

Our special guest Mark Peters answers these and other questions about leadership, culture, people-first leadership and building a business that goes beyond products and profits.

Mark Peters is the Chief Executive Officer of Butterball Farms, Inc., which was nationally recognized as one of The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® from 2015 to 2021. The second-generation family business, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is America’s leading producer of culinary butter and margarine and creates custom butter flavors for some of America’s biggest brands.

Peters began as a factory worker in his father’s company at the age of 12: an experience that taught him first-hand about the challenges that frontline workers face. At 30, he took over the company determined to lead a financially successful business that would also enrich the lives of its workers.

In 2003, he organized a pioneering group of CEOs and community leaders to found The Source, a not-for-profit organization that has helped hundreds of workers navigate personal challenges that were interfering with their jobs and delivered an average annual return on investment of 200 percent to its partner organizations. In 2020, Peters published his first book The SOURCE: Using the Power of Collaboration to Stabilize Your Workforce and Impact Your Community highlighting his journey from concept to creation of The Source.

The Leadership Junkies Podcast is brought to you by Cardivera.com.

Show Notes

Episode highlights…

Leading with a holistic approach to supporting your peoples’ needs
The importance of having a mission, vision and values that are meaningful (more than just words)
What it means to live a mission of enriching lives
Aligning rewards with mission and values
Focus on your people first (not only when it’s the right time to put people first)
The importance of understanding finance in leading a business
Understanding the roles, lives and needs of your team (including frontline workers)
Importance of empathy and understanding others in leadership
Treating people well and taking care of them is the right thing to do
Beware of policies that don’t support the mission and be willing to change them
Value of localized decision making (by the people closest to the issues and opportunities)
The role of flexibility in leadership and policies today
Leaders must understand the complexity of the lives of their people
Using collaboration to provide support to your team members
Exponential returns on investments in supporting your people
Understanding The Source as a model for providing support services and solutions for your people
People engage when they feel supported and cared about
When you take responsibility you empower yourself with choices and solutions