Naughty and Nice

As a business leader, it’s been drummed into my head that I’m not supposed to be nice. After all, isn’t “nice” the opposite of hard-charging? Don’t nice guys finish last? Reading today’s headlines, you might even think that boorish behavior is a prerequisite for corporate success.

I don’t buy it. 

When we started our company 13 years ago, my partners and I had one rule when it came to hiring. We were going to “hire nice.” That means I didn’t care if you had the top degree from the top school, if I didn’t think you could tamp down your ego in support of your colleagues and our customers, you weren’t coming to work at Saatva. Besides, if you had a strong enough resume to land the interview, as far as I was concerned you had the talent to do the job. I was looking for the kind of skills that can’t be captured in bullet points. 

Did I miss out on some top talent that way? Maybe. But over the long haul I win, and here’s why.

Nice inspires. Company culture comes from the top. As founder and CEO, I could walk into any room and start handing out directives, but that’s not how I operate. I’ll always give my angle on a situation, but I approach my leaders more like partners. That inspires them to start thinking and acting more like owners. They become more invested in the work and they make better decisions for the future of the business because they know that as the company succeeds they will reap the rewards. 

Nice energizes. When you are surrounded by good people, you feel better about yourself. When you feel better, you can accomplish more. A positive work environment makes you more focused, more productive, and more energized. The talent and creativity that is already present gets unleashed, and everyone becomes great together. 

Nice surprises. Some of Saatva’s most successful employees are people who, on paper, might not have seemed like the obvious choice. But valuing kindness, passion, and positivity often pays back in the form of loyalty, hard work, and fresh thinking. It’s not true for all roles or all hires, of course, but you’d be surprised by how often, over the past 30 years, my gut has proven right. 

Nice builds your brand. When we started Saatva, we set out to be the most helpful brand in the mattress space. The industry was notorious for shady practices and lack of transparency. We wanted to sell mattresses, sure, but we also wanted to educate people so they could make better decisions, which led to happier customers, which led to more business, which led us to where we are today—the most successful direct-to-consumer luxury mattress company in the country. That could never have happened if my partners and I didn’t commit to “hiring nice” on day one. 

Don’t get me wrong—I’m no pushover. I’m as competitive a person as you’ll ever meet, and I expect my teams to deliver their best performance every day. But you can be aggressive and fight hard and still behave with integrity. Thirteen years of steady growth and profits is proof of that, and I can promise you we didn’t sacrifice a penny along the way.

- Ron Rudzin, Saatva Founder and CEO