“We believe corporate values play a very important role in our growth,” says Mark

McLaughlin, Just Born's vice president of human resources and corporate affairs. “Our values are the standard-bearers by which our decisions are made. Decisions are determined based on what's the right thing to do, with associates' welfare in mind.”

First and foremost, Just Born is a food business, grounded in the principles of hygienic manufacturing, safe packaging practices and cleanliness as a corporate way of life. This conveys a very special meaning in the Just Born manufacturing environment. Since a food process is critical and transcends every aspect of operations, many Just Born associates are well-acquainted with the highly touted Toyota “5S” lean manufacturing system for organizational success:

• Sort (housekeeping)
• Shine (clean up)
• Set in order (workplace organization)
• Standardize (cleanliness)
• Sustain (discipline)

“The spirit of continuous improvement is with us,” says McLaughlin. “We are compulsive, almost, that everything can be better, in all areas of the organization. We believe that we can always find ways to reduce waste, to improve safety and quality, to reduce lead times and costs and to increase profitability. This is part of the fabric of our culture.”

“There are significant management practices that are used to reinforce values, too,” says McLaughlin. “The company's performance management process (PMP) is a personal accountability to staff associate's own peers in addition to his or her supervisor. It consists of key objectives linked to Just Born's company objectives, core job deliverables and requires two learnings recommended and instituted annually to enable an associate to become more competent and more productive. The key to the success of this process is that we'd rather work on planning and delivering results based on our associates' skills and talents, than to just rate them. The emphasis is on improvement , what they contribute, and their personal growth.”

Just Born has built a solid reputation in the area of community affairs. “This is a good example of where the company's values have been critical to the understanding and success of our community partnerships and the involvement of our associates to achieve them,” says McLaughlin. “The corporate monetary contributions are higher than national averages. Equally, if not more important, is the emphasis on volunteerism. Associates are paid for two hours per month of community service. This shows a true measure of progress, a real demonstration of good faith to the many organizations which is so critically needed in our community.” Community service is also a measurable part of the PMP.

Just Born derives many benefits from the presence of its corporate values intertwined in the operations of the company. “Our values make growth possible because they bring stability, loyalty, consistency, pride, and cooperation to our way of doing business,” says McLaughlin. “Our competency listing includes valuable traits for doing business such as integrity, humor, respect, trust, character, kindness, motivation, compassion, courtesy, open communication and loyalty. Important stuff.”

“Our corporate values are not stagnant,” concludes McLaughlin. “They are perceived to be the essence of our existence, and they are reviewed from time to time as a responsibility of the Co-CEOs of the company, Ross Born and David Shaffer. Currently, a review is taking place to see how we can refine them to be more easily retained by our associates and our other important audiences who do business with us. The point is, we want people to understand how we feel about our business, and our corporate philosophy and related values do just that.”

The Just Born Philosophy: 18 Values at Work

•  We believe the greatest assets of our organization are people .

•  We believe motivated employees have the ability to exceed customer and consumer expectations .

•  We believe vision, compassion, courage , and integrity are the cornerstones upon which we build each day and each endeavor.

•  We believe in building and sustaining an environment where people, ideas, and creativity can flourish.

•  We believe trust is the foundation of all personal, interpersonal, and organizational achievement, and the building and maintaining of trust is our top priority.

•  We believe great things happen when everyday courtesy, kindness, and humor are woven into all our personal and professional interactions.

•  We believe in treating others as we would like to be treated ...creating a common connection from co-worker to customer to consumer to community.

•  We believe in nurturing respectful relationships with one another and encouraging the best in each other.

•  We believe character and competency are intrinsically linked, one dependent upon the other for success.

•  We believe quality is important not only in our larger accomplishments, but also in the small everyday things we do.

•  We believe “ how” we achieve is as important as “what” we achieve.

•  We believe open communication encourages freedom of expression, which stimulates curiosity and questions, which gives birth to imagination and ideas, which results in success.

•  We believe there is much to learn from one another and much to teach one another.

•  We believe mistakes along the way are not the end of the lesson, but only the beginning of opportunities to learn and grow.

•  We believe we are part of a larger whole which includes our families, our organization, and the community of neighborhoods in which we work and live and to whom we bear responsibility and loyalty .

•  We believe the legacy we leave must be one we would want to find.

•  We believe our challenge is to continue to integrate these beliefs into all areas of our lives.

•  We believe our work has just begun!

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