Pat Davison is Delaware Propane‘s general manager and he REALLY cares about people. What makes Pat so special is that he invests in his employees.

I first met Pat at a National Propane Gas Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.  His daughter, Katie, was also in attendance and their collective energy and enthusiasm was immediately contagious.

The best thing about my work is serving companies with a terrific company culture.

A definition of culture is “the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.”

I like this definition because it is concise and comprehensive enough to include the key phrase “concern for what is regarded as excellent.” If we drill down even further into this phrase, the word concern is the clincher. A person’s concern for others implies the presence of empathy, and it is empathy that motivates employees to put others’ needs ahead of their own. Going the extra mile for a customer or coworker is a manifestation of concern and empathy.

The word concern also entails leadership excellence in an emotional and gut-level style of management that employees just can’t ignore. The way a leader treats employees, customers, and suppliers becomes a visible example for others to emulate. The “do as I say, not as I do” approach to leadership does not work for the long haul, because it is incongruent to service excellence.

With Pat Davison.

The cumulative behavior of all employees (managers, technicians, and office staff) creates a company’s culture. Culture involves a shared and learned system of values, beliefs, and attitudes that shape and influence behavior. It is implied that people learn from each other through their shared experiences.

Congratulations to Pat Davison for inculcating a terrific culture of excellence.