Why is Orange the New Green?

By John Cassell, O.C. Tanner Company

Orange is a color of transition. And in business, an Orange Revolution is a transformation of a team from good to great.  An Orange Revolution in the corporate world is not intended to conquer a regime. Instead, it begins in the hearts of team members - men and women focused on overcoming barriers, exceeding expectations, and producing exceptional results.

The question is: can a 350,000-person study by The Best Companies Group - which issues the Best Places to Work list - prove the idea that a new standard of teamwork can bolster your bottom line? That’s exactly what the authors of New York Times best-selling book, The Orange Revolution, set out to do - prove that by improving your teams, you’ll improve your profits.

Start by developing a Noble Cause. What drives your team? When employees understand how their team contributes to the success of the organization, over 75% will be engaged. Nothing else motivates like the opportunity to unite behind a common purpose. Spend time with your team discussing the cause of your organization and then define what that cause means to the group. Allow everyone the chance to envision how they can make a contribution to the cause. Giving employees a voice in the cause gets everyone invested toward the same end - fueling pride and creating momentum that builds as team members reach milestones along the way.

Strengthen your competence in the Basic 4 + Recognition. Based on our ten-year research study highlighted in "The Carrot Principle", leaders who achieve enhanced business results are significantly more apt to be seen by their employees as stronger in the following areas: goal setting, communication, trust, and accountability. Add recognition as the accelerant to fuel the flames of productivity. Leaders who employed these skills realized greater return on equity, higher team morale, greater customer satisfaction, retention…and the list goes on.

Follow the Rule of 3. The path of transformation is not particularly complex. Following simple ground rules, coupled with consistent effort, wiLL get you there. The commitments of the Rule of 3 are: Wow, No Surprises, and Cheer. Simply put, wow your clients, customer, and coworkers. Keep surprises out of the picture, and cheer for the successes along the way.

Create Breakthrough Results. Richard Adam’s famed novel Watership Down places a band of rabbits on a journey for a new warren. One rabbit with the gift of prophecy convinces others they must leave their settled life to start anew. For the community to function as a whole, it required strengths from each individual to survive the expedition. Without teamwork, the structure faltered. Stepping out of a comfort zone and trying something new can be difficult but the ideas and innovation generated by the team are the ones that take us to new heights.

For a closer look into the 350,000-person teamwork data click on this link: Orange White Paper 

John Cassell is the Managing Director
for O.C. Tanner Company, and
Vice President, Marketing and
Communications for Central Ohio ASTD.