Do you wonder why your business is not as successful as it could be? Do your employees or the people you manage walk in the door of the office with a blank face, a loud sigh and look of hatred on their faces? If this sounds all too familiar then you most likely are lacking company culture in your business and need to learn how to motivate employees at your company. To really be a truly successful business you need to have employees that love to come to work—this all depends on the work environment YOU provide.

At 2,320 miles long, the Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the U.S. It has the world’s fourth-largest drainage basin, including all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. 

And it all starts from Lake Itasca, a small glacial lake only about 1.8 square miles in area, with an average depth of 20 to 35 feet.

Just as that small lake fuels a gigantic network of rivers and tributaries, the leader of a company has an exponential impact on the workplace culture. As a leader, one of your most important jobs is as CCO—chief culture officer.

Do you look forward to going to work each day? Do you leave work feeling hopeful and fulfilled? As a business leader or manager of your company, if you don’t, then your employees probably don’t either. And if you do, have you checked with your employees to see if they feel the same way? A huge part of building a Passion and Provision company is creating a space where your employees feel safe, engaged, heard and valued. A place where they can actually have fun while also doing good work and finding fulfillment in their contribution.

When you walk through the doors at the Bubble, three things become very clear...

1. Environment

The first is that you have entered the workplace of visionaries, who decorate with drum sets and antique candy dispensers, (which I might add, are surprisingly comforting to the nervous interview candidate). The creatively charged environment speaks seamlessly to the culture of a Passion and Provision^® company. One that aims to engage anybody who walks through the door to dream big, pay attention to detail, and to think outside the bubble. Here, there is the inevitable promise that work can be fun, stories can be told, and businesses can grow.

Did you know it’s National Boss’s Day? We sent our two amazing head honchos to Hawaii! Well – kind of. They actually told us they had the opportunity to visit Hawaii and they were seizing that opportunity, so we sent them with our blessings – and that’s kind of the same thing. And you know what? They deserve it! Aloha! So in honor of National Boss’s Day, I asked our staff what they love most about Michael and Kathryn. Their words say it so much better than I ever could. Read what they said below!

It’s unusually quiet here at The Bubble this week. Our delightful bosses (who we miss!) are visiting their daughter. Even the office dog isn't here to welcome us each morning. Instead she's off gallivanting around the backyard of a friend’s home. Still, there’s a whispered buzz of finger typing, problem solving, and the occasional discussion of why in the world such-and-such is trending on Twitter. It’s unconventional times in the office like this that cause a pause - just long enough to get our brains out of the small business online marketing world for a moment – to reflect. In the spirit of Thanksgiving our staff shares what we’re grateful for.

What do you think when you hear or read the term ROI? Not too excited by the term, right? You know it’s important but we can agree it sounds pretty boring and dull. However, ROI may be more important than you think. Guess what? ROI ends up impacting people, the community, your employees and your company culture.

With Christmas being days away you still have time to show how much you care about your employees. Why should you do this? Having a company that is full of passion and provision is crucial to gain your maximum success. By doing these random acts of kindness, you are showing your employees the passion that you have for your business which translates to taking care of your employees.

Remember that feeling when you were just beginning college? The world was at your fingertips. You could do anything. Be anything. Go anywhere. Maybe you had no idea what that was exactly, but you knew you wanted to create your own successful small business.

Passion in the work place is something that many people think is hard to find. Passion is something that comes about after following a set of skills that you have into a career that you develop passion for and fall in love with. However, passion is often thought of as something that is concrete and finite. Really, it’s not. Passion is measurable—it can be gauged.