All You Need Is Love: The origins of “Love as a Business Strategy”

How much better would the world be if everyone loved going to work? How much more engaged would we be? How much more efficient? That’s the vision of Mohammad Anwar and Chris Pitre (Softway & Culture+), two co-authors of the WSJ-bestseller Love as a Business Strategy. They want to revolutionize the way companies do business, by putting people at the center of every decision. But this idea didn’t come out of nowhere. It was born from the real-life transformation of their company, Softway. So on this episode, we’re telling that story: how a leader learned to love his team and, in doing so, transformed his company and himself.

Mohammad founded Softway when he was 20 years old, and he’d grown the business to over 300 employees since its inception. But by 2015, the company had developed a toxic culture, and Mohammad was known for his unprofessional outbursts. With the business struggling, morale was low. Two weeks after Chris was hired, Softway laid off a third of its workforce by gathering them in a conference room and telling them all at once. Mohammad didn’t know if the business would last another month.

But then he had a realization, and together he and Chris went on a journey to institute a “culture of love.” Through slow, quiet work, Mohammad changed his behaviors and made Softway a place that employees loved. Success soon followed. Now, they help other businesses change their own cultures. On this episode, we’ll explore the leader’s role in a culture of love: their responsibilities, behaviors and how they stand to benefit.

So, join us, as we answer the question: “What’s love got to do with it?”

Highlights:

• Meet Mohammad Anwar & Chris Pitre (1:12)
• What is “love as a business strategy”? (2:22)
• The origins of Softway (3:23)
• The infamous “Dirty fridge” email (5:44)
• Softway’s darkest day (9:39)
• Why it’s hard to be a leader (12:02)
• Mohammad’s epiphany (15:07)
• Misconceptions about the culture of love (17:21)
• Perks are not culture (20:21)
• Culture eats strategy for breakfast, but behaviors eat culture for lunch (21:29)
• Redefining leadership (23:11)
• Changing behavior (26:30)
• Trickle-down culture (28:21)
• The role of forgiveness (30:15)
• Softway’s turnaround (31:35)
• No excuses (35:54)
• Seneca Leaders (38:28)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank Twitter
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Mohammad Anwar LinkedIn
• Chris Pitre LinkedIn
• Seneca Leaders
• Love as a Business Strategy - Book
• Love as a Business Strategy - Podcast
• Softway Website
• Culture+ Website

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.