These workers can't contain their excitement.

• Author: Nelson, Bob
• Position: Rewarding Employees - Container Store hires employees who are excited about making a difference in their jobs

When Kip Tindell and Garrett Boone founded The Container Store 25 years ago, they wanted the philosophies by which they ran their lives to be the same ones by which they ran their company. They didn't have any formal business or management training, yet they set out "to create the best retail store in the United States" and to offer their customers the best products available, while providing incredible customer service and fair pricing.

Their key strategy is their employees, many of whom started as avid customers themselves. Tindell and Boone take great care in hiring employees who are excited about making a difference in their jobs. And, the founders are more than willing to hold a job vacant until the right person comes along.

Company culture shapes attitudes

The company's "culture" guides the efforts of all employees. Says Barbara Anderson, the company's first employee and director of company culture and education: "Every company has a culture. It may not be working for you, but one does exit. It comes from within and it takes time to create." For The Container Store, the culture has been perpetuated through consistent application of a few "foundation" principles--simple, yet powerful concepts that help shape the attitudes and daily behaviors of all employees.

For example, "Fill the other guy's basket to the brim. Making money then becomes an easy proposition," a statement attributed to Andrew Carnegie, has become the Golden Rule for the business, shaping relationships with customers, employees and vendors alike. Another principle, "Man in the Desert," uses an analogy of someone lost in the desert who asks for water. The thirsty man really needs more than water: transportation, shelter, food, comfort and more.

"Intuition does not come to an unprepared mind," a quote attributed to Albert Einstein, is another foundation principle. Employees are expected to have an obsession with learning so as to be able and ready to apply what they know to the unique solutions-based approach to helping customers. To help in this regard, all full-time employees receive 235 hours of training in their first year alone--and the opportunity to be rewarded with additional continuing education as they perform well in the organization.

"Create an air of excitement" is a foundation principle that places responsibility for the energy of interactions with customers squarely on the shoulders of every employee. And to...