Personal Compass Leads to Success for Harden, Blue Compass Team
Building and sustaining teams of dedicated professionals who love and excel at what they do and attract ustomers for life defines every successful business.
It’s not an easy to do. Yet Drew Harden, president and co-founder of West Des Moines, Iowa-based Blue Compass, makes it look that way. He helped found the company in 2007; it currently employs 30.
I’ve long admired Drew. He is faith-filled, upbeat, not afraid to take risks and loves Iowa. I’ve also gotten to know Drew and his team personally during my time at Iowa Soybean Association – from conducting farmer-member research to constructing a new digital presence for our association (to launch this fall).
Engaging with leaders is always a learning journey. In our fast-paced conversation, the avid reader who appreciates the Midwestern work ethic offered his take on...
…Motivating teams — I’m motivated to build something, to create and cultivate. That’s one of the things Blue Compass (BC) has allowed me to do. I love to create positive culture that offers people the opportunity to flourish. That’s what motivates me – creating an environment that allows a team to grow, enhance their expertise and be joyful and supportive of each other.
Drew Harden would be a full-time motivational speaker if not helping lead the passionate and customer-focused team at Blue Compass. (Photo submitted)
Tackling the biggest learning curve — Putting the right team together and creating the right company culture. I thought hiring people with good resumes was the key. But it’s much more than that. We can teach skills but not personality. Skills can grow and change over time, but personality doesn’t.
Instilling a company culture — I look for people who are passionate about our five values: being positive; growing expertise; supporting each other; giving clients our best; and rejecting drama and gossip.
Recharging — I don’t need to recharge that much because just being with this team continually motivates me. We have so much fun and support each other that often that’s enough for me. But everyone needs a vacation so spending time with my wife and two boys is wonderful. I love to run, to be outside and travel with my family.
The importance of faith — God should be No. 1 in my life and my relationship with him and Jesus is of upmost importance. He’s the One who gave me life and everything I have. So, everything I have and all I am is his. I want to honor him with it. I recharge reading the Bible and prayer. Faith is rewarding and rejuvenating and something I feel called to live out.
Favorite reads — Reading is one of the ways I motivate myself. If you’re not learning and moving forward, you’re sliding backwards. The Bible is my favorite book. There are a lot of other wonderful reads – Van (Harden’s) books are really good. I also enjoy How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie because I used to be a worrier. As a business owner, there are unlimited things to worry about so maintaining a positive outlook is important. Traction by Gina Wickman helps us organize our business. As a man thinkith by James Allen does a fantastic job conveying one of the most important principles in life – that you become what you think about.
If the “Harden” name rings a bell, it should! Van Harden, WHO Radio morning personality and author, and Drew are father/son! (Photo submitted)
The defining value of Blue Compass — Positivity. Anything I can do as a leader to bring more positivity and joy to our team members’ lives is only going to make BC a better company.
His main role at Blue Compass — There are four: to live out our values, articulate our values, create a positive environment and motivate our team. One way I found to do that is to think up fun, entertaining, out of the ordinary and crazy scenarios that surprise and delight our team members.
An example of doing something interesting to surprise the team — My business partner and I met our team members’ parents. One of the things that keeps a company’s culture strong is understanding and appreciating one another. And what better way to understand some one than to visit their parents? We contacted several team members and parents and asked if we could hang out with them and ask them questions. The parents were excited to participate. We drove more than 500 miles and recorded the conversations. We asked a bunch of questions, from what motivates your son and daughter and what did they do in high school to what’s the most interesting thing about their child. It took some time to edit but we were able to keep it a surprise. Finally, we unveiled the 30-mintue video of us talking to their parents at an all-team meeting. They were all surprised, overjoyed and a bit embarrassed! But it was so much fun. I gained a deeper understanding about our team and it helped me appreciate and admire them even more. It was a bit out of the box but well worth the time and energy!
Doing something else other than leading the BC team — I’d like to be a motivational speaker, focusing on how to create great company culture and have a joyful workplace.
Making the best use of his time — I prioritize my to-do list with a heavy emphasis on tasks that push us forward. I try to do the tasks I least want to do first and get them out of the way. As leaders, we’re pulled in many directions so time management is something I work on.
Drew is often invited by news outlets to share his perspective on digital and social media trends and how to make an online impact. (Photo submitted)
Being a morning or evening person — Definitely morning. I almost never work in the evenings. I’ve never pulled an all-nighter, even in college. I rarely check e-mail in the evening.
Getting rolling each day — I arise early and try to run 4-5 miles, then spend time doing devotions. I never drink coffee but I always eat a full breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day. Usually make a protein smoothie or omelet.
Why he loves Iowa — I’m drawn to the people, strong Midwestern work ethic and how kind people are. I’ve spent a lot of time elsewhere, including New York and Los Angeles. They’re great places but much different than Iowa. I haven’t found a better place than right here.
Around the Bend is a blog by Aaron Putze and can be reprinted with attribution. Putze can be reached at putzeink@gmail.com or 515-975-4168.