Archie Black Knows How Goodness Pays

Archie Black is the perfect leader to be rounding out the speakers on the fall series of the Good Leadership Breakfast next Friday. The theme for the fall series has been Good Leadership is a Team Sport. Under his leadership as the CEO of SPS Commerce for 22 years, the publicly-traded company has risen to the top 1% of all technology companies on the NASDAQ, and hit their sales goals a record 92 quarters in a row.

The SPS secret? They built their culture on the idea: Employees come first, no matter what. That’s the core of a service-value chain theory that SPS has applied with text book precision. “I really like your focus on good leadership as a team sport,” Archie shared during our coaching session. “We’ve learned that when you get the employee equation right – when people expect to be a part of a special team from the beginning – you will get all of the other things right as well.”

Goodness defined

Goodness is when people thrive together in a culture of encouragement, accountability and positive teamwork. As our society shifts towards a more collaborative, teams of teams oriented workforce, many organizations struggle to create the spirit of “accountability” that’s at the centerpiece of the SPS Commerce culture.

Anyone who has spent time in Archie’s presence can feel the goodness of his upbringing and the sincerity of his style. He lives a well-rounded life of travel, family time, and a passion for literacy. “Paul, I always find a way to talk in every appearance like this about how important literacy is to the success of children, our communities, our companies, and to our society as a whole,” he declared with confidence and determination.

Like the rest of you, I will just have to wait a little longer to hear his insights. We’ll be gathering with Archie on Friday, November 17, at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Minneapolis for the 106^th episode of the Good Leadership Breakfast series. When you join us, you will hear me interview Archie on many things related to goodness in leadership, and we’ll be sharing three of his specific success habits, as identified by his colleagues.

Get your tickets to breakfast here.