People First
Culture is something Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.'s leaders take very seriously.
I found that out recently when I had the opportunity to sit down with outgoing CEO Brian Hannasch and incoming CEO Alex Miller for an exclusive interview about the leadership transition. During our 20-minute video chat, the word "culture" was mentioned by Hannasch and Miller a total of 16 times.
Company culture is defined as the shared values, attitudes and practices that shape the collective identity of an organization. For Couche-Tard and its 149,000 team members spread out across 31 countries and territories, there are four values they live by:
One Team: We work together to make it easier for our customers and colleagues. We stay humble and celebrate shared successes. We have fun and care for each other.
Do the Right Thing: We act with honesty and integrity. We are inclusive: we treat each other, our customers and our suppliers with respect. We strive towards a cleaner, safer, equitable workplace and planet.
Take Ownership: We treat the business as our own. We seek out problems, act quickly to solve them, and deliver better results. We take responsibility and, when we make mistakes, we learn from them.
Play to Win: We challenge ourselves to play offense, not defense, which means we need to be quick and innovative. We show up every day ready and committed to make an impact using our talents and hard work.
Being a global company — and one that has acquired just shy of 8,000 convenience stores in the last decade — it takes hard work to protect and maintain this culture.
During his 10-year tenure as CEO, Hannasch did his part by "getting rid of jerks," in his words. "We've had some people that have been absolute rock stars, but they couldn't treat people right. … It's a cancer that needs to go away," he told me during our interview.
He also worked hard at spending much of his time "in the business" rather than in his office, visiting each of the company's business units at least twice a year, in addition to special gatherings. "We want a culture of being in the stores, appreciating the stores and people first," he said.
Now, it is Miller's turn to do his part to keep Couche-Tard's culture intact. And he is ready. Having spent the last nearly 13 years working in various roles within the organization, Miller feels he really does know the culture and the things that make Couche-Tard successful. "I've always said that when I'm doing well, people don't need me very much because they're making decisions, they're leading their business, they feel empowered. … To me, that is our culture, and we'll just continue to work to really protect that and empower that even further," he said.
Given Couche-Tard's success, I would encourage all companies in the industry to consider whether they have a company culture and, if so, what it is and whether all of their employees are aware of that culture and living it day in and day out. For those that do not have a company culture in place, what are you waiting for?
