By John Stix (Originally published on LinkedIn) Fibernetics started out over ten years ago powered by an entrepreneurial spirit that, in short order, took us from a fringe player in Canadian telecommunications, to one of the largest and most robust networks in the country, servicing hundreds and thousands of customers coast-to-coast. It was exciting. Everyone in the company was on board. We were having fun. Everyone was happy.
One decade in however, things had changed. We’d become so large, that the spirit that drove us to this size and success was being drowned out by process. Unable to feel empowered, employees were becoming disengaged. For the first time, company leadership, including myself, weren’t rushing into the office. Worst yet, we were starting to receive negative feedback from our customers.
Change was required, and change we did, with rapid and positive results. Today Fibernetics is posting record sales, attracting and retaining top talent and have elevated our profile nationally. Due to this success, I’m asked how we, as a group, transformed Fibernetics so quickly and so profoundly.
At Fibernetics, we have many goals and aspirations for our business that we strive to work on every day. It is the same with our culture, however some are more emphasized than others.

Like happiness.

Our “I’M IN!” mantra with the “Happy Face,” represents a goal for all of us at Fibernetics. But what does it truly mean? We hold on to the hope and positive belief, that all of us can become happy through awareness, resilience, empathy, gratitude and optimism.  Especially, if we are not happy at any one particular time in our lives.
Personally, I completely understand how hard becoming and staying happy can be, as I have struggled over the years at various times; sometimes deeply. The loss of family, past businesses, friendships, etc. have all had its impact on my wellbeing and overall happiness. On top of it all, we have so many responsibilities and pressures, how can we have the necessary time to concentrate on ourselves?
Our “Happy Face” represents the company’s care and understanding which reminds us, to help wherever possible, to contribute in a positive way to everyone’s personal happiness.
We do not expect everyone to have a smile on their face every day because we understand that everyone is an individual and that we all have had incredibly unique life circumstances. We also understand everyone has learned different ways to cope with these over the years.
However, that shouldn’t mean that I put up my hands and offer no assistance or care.  As a leader, we can make this a part of our business goals, objectives, planning, and investments. We can do our very best to keep this top of mind and connect, as much as we can, with those who are in our care and in need.
Employees or teammates are not numbers, or files stuffed away in a folder.  They are human beings, with families and whether you as a leader are willing to accept it or not, it doesn’t change the fact they are indeed within our care.
At the end of the day, isn’t it the success of many that outweighs the success of one or a few? Isn’t success also ones health, wellness, happiness and family enrichment that matters? It’s how we can help humanity move forward and establish new benchmarks for our societies and how businesses conduct themselves.
At Fibernetics, we wish to support with understanding, awareness, tools and encouragement to find who you truly are and to discover possibly more of your authentic, true self.
Being your true authentic self leads to passion and passion leads to care and care leads engagement and engagement leads to productivity and productivity leads to results. Why can’t one of the results be happiness for everyone in the company under your care and leadership?
I don’t understand or accept that we collectively wish to allow statements such as “Don’t take it personal. It’s just business,” to remain acceptable.  Why do we use these statements when we know our integrity is within question?  It is indeed deeply personal.
Open your heart and lead with it. Prioritize people’s wellness like you would sales or operations or any other aspect of business and watch the transformation occur.
I can tell you first hand, the results are simply incredible. Worst case, through authentic vulnerability you just may unleash the true version of yourself as a leader and, in turn, also feel happy once again.
I look forward to posting more on LinkedIn and sharing my ongoing transformative experience with my company. I feel my experience will help benefit others looking to make their company go from good to insanely good.
John Stix, Co-founder and President of Fibernetics, one of the largest telecom companies in the country with points of presence coast-to-coast, it supports hundreds of thousands of Canadians with their telecommunications needs. John is passionate about culture in companies and what makes a great company become incredible. He lives it every day and is completely committed to this goal.
Follow John on LinkedIn