Good business habits are built on virtue. Discover what virtues make your customers happy!
Our 5-step approach begins and ends with your customers and your employees.
From dependability to generosity to optimism, we ask them what virtues are most important to their business.
With that information we identify your priority virtues, give you tools for applying them to your industry and implement employee-led initiatives to embrace these virtues in their daily work.
Our 5-step process:
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1
Ask
We start by asking your customers a simple question: “What is it that you most appreciate about the work we do for you?”
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2
Match
We match their responses to one of 130 human virtues we have identified, such as order, dependability, optimism, loyalty, patience, etc.
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3
Prioritize
We pick the strongest 5 virtues that match your customer's responses.
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4
Study
We study the virtues and help you and your employees learn how to apply them in their daily routine.
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5
Practice
It takes practice to turn virtues into habits. We help you create a set of practices around each virtue and get to work helping your employees acquire the habits.
Frequently asked questions:
What are Virtues?
Virtue (Latin: virtus, Ancient Greek: “arete” (Hey! It’s our name!)) is moral excellence. A virtue is a positive trait or quality deemed to be morally good. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting collective and individual greatness.
What are examples of Virtues?
Honesty, perseverance, order, dedication, justice, integrity, respect...these are just a few of the 130 human virtues we have catalogued. Pursuing just a few at a time will help us improve our character and be happier at work and at home.
What results can I expect?
We have years of experience starting, leading and selling businesses. We know that the bottom line matters. Our proven method makes a direct impact on employee turnover, employee happiness, productivity and profit. Our clients have experienced sales growth, increased margin perspective and decreased error percentage. You can expect your workforce to be energized and reinvigorated by this unconventional exercise in personal development. In addition, your company’s values will be more clearly defined and supported by employee actions than ever before, which will be a benefit to everyone from current employees and new hires to existing customers and new prospects.
What do we have to do?
Hire us! While we guide you at every step, our program is composed, steered and carried out by your own employees. Leaders and emerging leaders at your company will be given the opportunity to challenge themselves and take on various roles during the process. Employees will have varied levels of involvement according to their comfort levels - ranging from participating in surveys to volunteering to be a facilitator of change and taking on a leadership or teaching role.
Is Arete faith-based?
Dozens of faith-traditions and non-faith traditions embrace virtuous living as a happier way of being. The root of our program is the recognition of the innate human dignity of human beings and the commitment to true service to all those in our lives - customers, co-workers, family and friends. We do this through the promotion of human virtues, which themselves were defined by philosophers (think, Aristotle!) over 2400 years ago. The specific virtues on which your company chooses to focus are completely a product of your company and its employees and are not dictated by anything else.