The idea of treating your employees like family may make you feel warm and fuzzy, but what exactly does this entail? Isn’t your real family rife with emotional disputes and status quo dysfunctions? Based on how most people treat their family members, perhaps it isn’t such a great idea after all.

Instead of treating employees like your own family, how about creating a new, corporate family with its own set of values, beliefs and expectations? To us, a “corporate family” is a group of individuals with shared beliefs that help each other achieve success while working toward a common goal. This is what the “CLEARLINK family” is all about.

One of our shared beliefs, for example, is to “crush mediocrity.” As Seth Godin says in his book Tribes, “You don’t have enough time to be both unhappy and mediocre. It’s not just pointless, it’s painful. Instead of wondering when your next vacation is…you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”

We believe in helping our CLEARLINK family members achieve success by rising above mediocrity, in both their personal and professional lives.

During a recent quarterly meeting, CEO Phil Hansen challenged all CLEARLINK family members to reach out and help their colleagues. He reminded the team that by helping those around you become better, you’re making yourself better, too. Together we can achieve greatness. In the meeting he asked three CLEARLINK employees to come up to the mic, share their personal needs with the entire company, and then asked the rest of the team to work together to solve these individuals’ problems by donating time and resources.

Our CLEARLINK family took action. One employee was in need of education on personal relationships, so another employee donated a series of classes from Landmark Forum. Another was trying to move his family into a new home, but needed help painting, cleaning, and packing.

Those who volunteered were deeply moved by the act of helping a CLEARLINK family member. This is what having a corporate family means to us:

“I was impressed by how many CLEARLINKers showed up. I’m happy to have been a part of this rewarding experience.” -Cody Christensen

“I love my CLEARLINK family, and I get much satisfaction through serving others. It was a privilege to help Joey and his family move into their new home.”  -Dave Harris

“I loved seeing everyone come together to help Joey’s family. It was fun being able to work side by side to help one of our own. As we were leaving, Joey gave me a huge hug and said he was so thankful for CLEARLINK and for all of us. “I love you guys,” Joey said. “We love you too Joey, it’s what families do,” I replied, and that’s the truth. CLEARLINK is a family and we take care of each other in any way we can. I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of that experience. I know that Joey and his wife will put more love and labor into their new house to truly make it a wonderful home for their family.” -Kandi Phillips

“CLEARLINK has had an amazing impact on my life. It has changed the way I treat people, the way I feel about myself. It’s made me believe that anything is possible.” -Joey Lopez

It’s not about treating your employees like family, but about the power that comes from a united group. Create your corporate family by clearly communicating your beliefs, hiring others who share those beliefs, and then collectively living those beliefs. We believe in making one another better. We believe that healthy relationships are key to living a happy life. We believe in being more than mediocre. These are simple truths that unite our corporate family. What are yours?