The Heart of Business

Success comes from not chasing profit but by putting purpose and people first. When you take care of these, profits will naturally follow.

1. A Purpose Beyond Profits

Hubert Joly believed that a company's existence should extend beyond just making money. When he arrived at Best Buy, one of his first actions was to redefine the company’s purpose. After intense reflection, the organization embraced the idea of “enriching lives through technology.” This new purpose inspired employees and gave their work profound meaning.

Joly restructured the company around this vision to ensure that it wasn’t just a slogan. He empowered individual store teams to meet the needs of their communities. Store leaders frequently visited locations to gather ideas and provide their teams with tailored support. Employees at every level began feeling connected to their work, and their passion for this shared goal was reignited.

This shift replaced the previous pressure-driven environment with one of genuine care for customers. Employees were supported with training to better understand customer needs. This allowed them to create real connections and deliver meaningful service, improving both the shopping experience and the company’s reputation.

Examples

• Store staff were trained to provide customized solutions rather than push expensive add-ons.
• Best Buy incorporated customer feedback to make meaningful improvements in service.
• Leaders physically visited stores to engage directly with local teams and communities.

2. Customer-Centered Transformation

Joly shifted Best Buy's approach from transactional sales to a consultative and relationship-focused model. Instead of pressuring teams to upsell products, the company prioritized creating solutions that genuinely worked for customers. By listening first and recommending products second, Best Buy turned shoppers into loyal patrons.

This inversion of priorities meant employees devoted more time to understanding customer needs. Joly provided additional training that equipped them with skills to identify customer preferences and pain points. This approach not only improved customer satisfaction but built lasting trust. Customers started returning because they saw employees as helpful consultants rather than pushy salespeople.

The transformation encouraged mutual respect between staff and customers. People appreciated the attentive service and associates who worked to simplify their tech decisions. These authentic connections helped Best Buy stand out against its online competitors.

Examples

• Teams were prompted to spend more time asking customers questions rather than immediately promoting expensive items.
• Best Buy employees crafted tailored solutions for customers, making them feel valued and understood.
• Loyal customers began referring others, seeing Best Buy as a trusted partner for their tech needs.

3. Listening to Employees Builds Trust

Arriving at a company with low morale, Joly understood that the foundation of trust began with listening. During his initial weeks at Best Buy, he participated in open employee roundtables to hear directly from staff about their struggles and concerns. Through active listening, Joly uncovered systemic issues around poor management, inadequate support, and unclear career paths.

This listening phase turned into action. Joly acted on employee feedback by improving wages, revising parental leave policies, and making work schedules more flexible. He even eliminated unnecessary bureaucracy, giving decision-making power back to local teams. Employees started feeling appreciated, motivated, and trusted with their roles.

Joly’s open forums created a dialogue where employees felt safe sharing. This fostered transparency, better workplaces, and stronger engagement, turning dissatisfaction into renewed energy.

Examples

• Dozens of listening sessions with employees helped identify and prioritize areas for improvement.
• Parental leave policies were revised to support better work-life balance for staff.
• Store managers were empowered to make more local decisions without waiting for corporate approvals.

4. Empowerment Through Decentralization

Joly understood that centralization and micromanagement stifled creativity and efficiency. To fix this, he flipped Best Buy’s structure, empowering store managers and frontline employees to make decisions regarding their locations. Corporate leaders were tasked with supporting teams, not standing in their way.

This decentralization ensured that decision-making came from those who understood the customers and circumstances best. Employees felt ownership of their roles, which boosted their confidence and innovation. Managerial roles pivoted from giving orders to becoming facilitators and problem solvers. Senior executives embraced a new mindset of service to their employees.

Decentralization gave each Best Buy store the autonomy to adapt and respond quicker to changing customer needs.

Examples

• Store managers were trusted with tailoring inventory to local preferences, from high-end gadgets to budget tech.
• Employees could address customer issues faster, thanks to simplified approval processes.
• Regional teams were encouraged to test new ideas and initiatives based on local consumer behaviors.

5. Investing in Employee Growth

Joly realized that employees thrive in environments that support their personal and professional development. He emphasized training programs, created mentorship initiatives, and mapped clearer career development pathways. Through this, employees grew their skills while feeling valued by the company.

Even retail staff received in-depth training to better serve technical needs for customers. Joly also initiated an annual “Best Buy Summit” where leaders at all levels could connect, learn, and share strategies. Employees began to feel their growth was an intentional part of Best Buy’s long-term vision.

This investment in people created happier employees who could engage customers better. It consistently reinforced that employee satisfaction went hand-in-hand with business success.

Examples

• New career development tools improved employees’ opportunities for promotion.
• Summit events connected leaders, encouraging the exchange of fresh ideas and best practices.
• Employees were taught valuable technical skills they could apply both on and off the job.

6. Purposeful Performance Metrics

Joly shifted the measurement of success from purely financial benchmarks to a broader look at customer satisfaction and employee engagement. Rather than focusing solely on sales figures, Best Buy started emphasizing how well they were enriching lives through technology.

The company rolled out metrics for tracking employee sentiment and customer trust. Regular surveys helped fine-tune areas like staff training and customer relationships. Earnings and profits, while still important, began to reflect the positive outcomes of satisfied employees and loyal customers.

Adopting these purpose-driven metrics brought long-term stability and growth to Best Buy, overturning years of declining sales trends.

Examples

• Stores adopted customer satisfaction scores as a key performance indicator.
• Employee engagement metrics highlighted work environments needing improvements.
• Positive survey results coincided with rising store traffic and repeat customers.

7. Long-term Thinking Wins Over Short-term Gains

Joly emphasized creating sustainable practices rather than chasing quick financial wins. Best Buy had previously sacrificed long-term health to hit quarterly targets. Joly flipped this by making long-term relationships—internally and externally—a greater focus.

His decisions to invest in training and employee engagement often came with high upfront costs. Yet over time, these investments paid off through better customer retention, lowered turnover, and growing brand loyalty. Wall Street doubted this philosophy, but the financial results eventually spoke for themselves.

Employee contributions, customer satisfaction, and streamlined operations outpaced what short-term profit strategies could achieve.

Examples

• Employees who formerly burn out from high-pressure goals thrived when given more reasonable priorities.
• Repeat purchases surged as customers trusted Best Buy associates for unbiased assistance.
• Collaborative problem-solving improved operations at a lower long-term cost.

8. The Power of Authentic Leadership

Joly led by example, acting with humility and authenticity wherever he went. He prioritized visiting stores, engaging directly with employees and customers. By making himself accessible, Joly earned trust from his team and motivated them to embrace new changes wholeheartedly.

His actions reflected the values he preached. From listening to employees to accepting personal accountability for company flaws, he made leadership relatable. This transparent approach rallied employees behind his vision of purposeful growth.

Leaders felt the impact of Joly’s people-first mindset and carried it forward into their own teams.

Examples

• Joly participated in training programs personally to better connect with retail teams.
• Publicly owning past leadership mistakes fostered accountability throughout Best Buy’s structure.
• Store visits reinforced his visible care for both team members and customers.

9. Profits as a Natural Result

Joly insisted on treating profits as a byproduct of serving people and aligning with purpose. This philosophy went against Wall Street’s preference for quantifiable financial objectives. However, Joly’s strategy worked because it was built on the complete alignment of a meaningful vision, satisfied employees, and loyal customers.

As employees brought creativity and better service to their roles, word-of-mouth spread. Ethical business practices created willing customers who were happy to invest their money into a company they trusted. These organic outcomes became the secret to Best Buy’s financial resurgence.

By putting people and purpose first, profits flowed naturally.

Examples

• Best Buy’s stock price tripled while the company attracted new types of customers.
• Financial stability allowed reinvestment into innovation and team support.
• Training programs translated into faster customer service and higher positive reviews.

Takeaways

1. Redefine your business purpose to create deeper meaning for employees and customers.
2. Invest in employees through listening, training, and career growth to unlock their full potential.
3. Prioritize serving people and purpose, trusting profits to follow as a natural outcome.