Joe Quitoni on Creating a Cultural Vibe

Joe Quitoni is the Founder and CEO of Unify Align. Unify Align collaborates with clients to reimagine the people and customer experience, delivering real-world solutions that supercharge business growth. Joe knows a thing or two about collaborating with clients, specifically around people and customer experience. Throughout his career, he has used his skills in organizational transformation to create game-changing advantages for some of the world’s biggest brands. Before starting Unify Align, he put in over 20 years at the Ritz Carlton hotel company, where he served as the Director of Human Resources before jumping over to the brand’s consulting firm, The Ritz Carlton Leadership Center, where he led the team as Global Head of Delivery. For those unfamiliar with what they do at The Ritz Carlton when it comes to the leadership center, think of it similarly to what Disney does; both of these organizations are known for customer service, so they actually train other businesses and other organizations on how they can serve. So, certainly if you’ve ever been to a Ritz Carlton, you have a sense of what the vibe is there. We’re going to talk about vibe quite a bit in today’s conversation. When he was working at Ritz Carlton, he transformed and evolved their approach and methodology, which created dramatic positive impact to the clients and businesses that they served. But Joe isn’t your typical corporate suit; he is someone who is unique in the way he thinks and how he delivers information. He brings a modern twist to the world of consulting; he’s armed with a Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and applies an innovative methodology to his work, where he delivers successful outcomes for a diverse portfolio of companies and clients. We’ve talked offline about some of those; they are truly remarkable. He works with startups, he works with Fortune 500 giants, he’s even worked with sports organizations, and he is someone who cares deeply about leadership, connection, inspiration, motivation, and really thinks about how an environment, how a vibe, how a culture, can drive not just customer experience, but employee experience as well. He’s known for his keynote speeches, which is actually how I found him, and also working alongside all kinds of different leaders inside organizations to ultimately help them develop what he calls “a very intentional vibe.” Joe had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include: “This word culture has been around for decades, but we have evolved tremendously as a society” (6:55). “The simplest way you can define culture is it’s everything in the environment” (7:20). “This word ‘vibe’ is… the energy, the attitudes, the beliefs that influence shared motivation, productivity, and engagement in an environment” (8:15). “This feeling of empowerment certainly allows for that authenticity to come through” (12:20). “A purpose statement creates a sense of pride, it’s inspirational, it’s motivational, and it shifts the headspace of an employee” (13:55). “You can’t just have the words; you as an organization need to clearly define what your perspective is of that belief and then you have to take it one step further; you have to attach specific behaviors” (15:15). “I like to center the vibe around the employee” (17:10). “When we’re talking about the word experience, consistency is the most important word in that” (18:25). “Far too often, people mistake customer service and customer experience as the same thing” (18:50). “Every single interaction… should have a beginning, should have a middle, and should have an end” (19:25). “I don’t want people to fit the mold; I’m a huge fan of diversity of thought and challenging the status quo” (26:05). “Accountability is one of the biggest reasons as to why something sticks or why it doesn’t” (28:15). “When you’re practicing accountability, I think it’s a coaching moment” (31:45). “Any time we engage in work, it’s always a co-created process” (38:00). “No consulting job should have a one-size-fits-all” (38:30). “Reach far and then go one step further” (42:10). “I equate loyalty and being a brand ambassador as being very similar” (50:20). “Brand ambassador is what we should all be shooting for” (50:55). “Every day is a new challenge” (54:30). “I continue to learn every single day and I think that’s the thing I love most about what I’m doing today” (54:35). “Success is at the heart of everything that we do” (56:20). “I want to transform the headspace and the mindset of your employees” (56:30). Additionally, you can connect with Joe on LinkedIn and check out the Unify Align website here. Thank you so much to Joe for coming on the podcast! I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening.