Running a business is hard. It turns out that running and growing a business that your grandfather passed down to your father, who then passed it on to you, doesn’t have to be harder. This is especially true when you are Hamza Khan, whose family business, LoveUrns, makes people its priority. In many ways, this business model was inevitable: both Hamza’s companies, LoveUrns, and GetUrns, provide beautiful and personalized funeral urns either straight to funeral homes or direct to the consumer. The funeral industry is an emotional one; whether working with customers or managing employees, Hamza and his GetUrns.com business partner, Cameron Allahverdi, demonstrate how a leader’s ability to be vulnerable is crucial to a people-first approach.
I sat down with Hamza and Cameron to discuss how they create happy workplaces in an incredibly sad industry. While much of our conversation touched on topics we have covered on Best Places to Lead, such as the importance of intentionally designed communication (Episode 4), their willingness as leaders to be vulnerable during both chaotic and quiet times stood out as a, if not the core business value. Here are 3 lessons I learned from them both about how to be authentically vulnerable as a leader.
- For your business to prosper, everyone– from the employees to the distributors to the customer– needs to prosper.
- A company’s true values are embedded in the stories told when you aren’t around.
- Hiring for empathy requires questions that highlight a person’s values and real personality.
Lesson #1: Your business will prosper when everyone prospers.
One of the interesting things about the partnership between Hamza and Cameron is that it started off with Hamza rejecting Cameron’s initial bid for distribution in the U.S. Not, however because it was too high, but because it was too low! When I asked Hamza to elaborate on why instead of taking advantage of the low bid and profiting, he encouraged Cameron to revisit the numbers, he said it’s because he’s always thinking of the long game for everyone involved.
For Hamza, it’s a family value passed on from his father and a cultural value in India to believe that everyone who works with you or for you needs to prosper in a business. Speaking to Cameron’s initial bid, Hamza explained, “If at the end of the day [Cameron] isn’t able to make ends meet, then he won’t be able to service us.” In the U.S., we tend to operate with a scarcity mindset, which has us only focus on the present and what we can gain rather than on future growth. As Hamza eloquently summarizes, “We believe in long-term relationships. And long-term relationships are only possible with people when they see long-term growth with you.” Being vulnerable in this instance means being willing both to say these numbers are too low and being able to receive that feedback as an act of good faith.
Lesson #2: A company’s true values are in the stories told when you aren’t around!
Unlike many factories in India during the COVID lockdowns, Hamza used the company’s savings to pay everyone their full salary. This meant his people did not feel the same financial impact as their colleagues at other companies. Similarly, there was a period of time where everyone except Hamza, Cameron, and one other employee was sick, and so the 3 of them were on the shop floor engraving and getting out shipments. Even now, when things have stabilized some, Cameron will regularly send employees on a break or home if they’re nearing burnout and take calls himself the rest of the day.
These are the actions of leaders who are willing and able to be vulnerable and take risks that center their people, not just leaders who say they are and do. These actions have gone on to become the stories that people tell, which is one of the primary ways people learn about a company’s culture. Storytelling is not only how they learn about your company’s culture, but it also drives self-regulation. When an employee hears that the boss monitors for burnout, they’ll be more likely to be self-monitoring and keep an eye on their colleagues. This people first, community mindset is essential in every industry, not just the funeral one. And its success requires leaders who are willing to step onto the real and metaphorical factory floor during times of crisis and during times of calm.
Lesson #3: Hiring for empathy requires getting to know people as their full authentic selves.
When taking customer calls for GetUrns.com, there are many hats you have to wear: therapist, educator, or salesperson. And where an order placement might be a 3-5 minute phone call in other industries, Cameron says their order calls run closer to 20 minutes because of the support a client needs to get through all the questions. As he reminded us, an urn is likely the last purchase you’ll ever make for your loved one, and for that reason, it is the most emotional purchase you’ll ever make as well.
Knowing this, I asked Cameron how to hire for empathy as a skill. He explained that in a typical 2-hour interview, he’d spend the first 15 minutes or so breaking the ice and calming everyone’s nerves so that someone’s true personality can come through. Then, they’ll spend a significant portion of that time discussing values and goals. His favorite question to ask is “Tell me an animal you personally connect with.” Whether they say a lion or a hamster, a person’s answer says a lot about who they are, including how to best communicate with them. He’ll also offer up something he’s struggling with at the moment to assess someone’s ability to read more implicit social cues. If they start to open up and respond back with something similar, it’s a good sign they can meet a customer where they’re at.
If you’d like to hear more about how to lead with vulnerability, make sure to tune in to the full episode!
About Best Places to Lead
Your company has the potential to be great. The leader’s responsibility is to unlock that potential – or doom it to mediocrity.
On the LIVE Best Places to Lead show, you’ll learn the hard-fought lessons from the front lines earned by business leaders who have already had their teeth bashed in and lived to tell about it. We’ll share the tips, tricks, mindsets, and frameworks that allow great leaders to lead differently.
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