SYSCO culture

First, what was interesting was what I did not find. SYSCO s uniqueness does not appear to be either its strategy, its products, its financial expertise, or its employees. Nor did I did find a rah-rah culture or a visible culture. What is unique about SYSCO is that it has figured out how, on a daily basis, to get and keep everyone - from the CEO to the truck driver - focused with the right attitude on doing the little things that count very very much to their customers. 

SYSCO s entrepreneurial culture is historically based. The company was created by John F. Baugh, an entrepreneur, who convinced eight other foodservice entrepreneurs to merge all their companies on a partial earn-out basis to create the beginnings of his novel idea - a national foodservice distribution company created to meet the future needs of the projected high-growth out-of-the-home cooked meal business. 

SYSCO s entrepreneurial culture is emphasized on a daily basis in the following ways. 

SYSCO s entrepreneurial culture is further evidenced by the fact that six of its top seven executives are former line operators of its business units. They know the intimate details of the business operations. These executives are 90% internally and operationally focused on a daily basis. 

In summary, SYSCO was founded upon values that include integrity, reliability, autonomy, quality, and entrepreneurship, which have been the essence of its culture through the company s history. The autonomous, entrepreneurial, decentralized culture with performance-based reward systems has been one of the keys that has made the company successful and was an integral part of the founding fathers vision. 

The SYSCO measurement system implements the performance-based culture. It is used to determine rewards, and reinforces local autonomy and the entrepreneurial spirit. The culture and the... 

SYSCO is now driving this incentive reward system down to the truck driver and warehouse employee level. The culture, measurement system, and reward system are integrated, internally consistent, understood by line employees, and motivate the desired behaviors. 

SYSCO s DNA is the seamless integration of its culture, measurement, and reward system. These systems drive and focus behavior. 

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