We have ten Core Behaviors at our company. These aren't decorative words in our conference room - they're mantras our team speaks in hallways and repeats in trucks every single day. They shape how we interact with each other, how we engage with the world, and how we make decisions when no one's watching.

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Seize the High Ground - do the right thing even when not easy or profitable

In a recent company-wide survey, our team voted this as their top core behavior. Not the one about efficiency. Not the one about being clean & organized. This one.

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Why It Matters

Imagine: A customer service rep is on the phone with a frustrated homeowner. A technician is crouching in front of a failing furnace in someone's basement at 9 PM. In those moments, I'm not there. Our leadership team isn't there. But I want that person making the decision I would make in their shoes.

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Put simply, I want them to do the right thing.

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The mantra of Seize the High Ground gives them something to remember when they're presented with a moral or ethical dilemma. It's a decision-making framework that fits in their pocket. When the profitable path diverges from the right path, they know which one to take.

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It’s those path divergences where these frameworks truly shine. In the Marine Corps, we were taught to always provide the Commander’s Intent - the why behind the plan, the ultimate desired endstate - because simply giving instructions for an operation wasn’t enough when the situation could change at any moment. When the situation would change, the initial instructions often became obsolete and the Commander’s Intent is what allowed rapid decision-making at lower levels to continue the fight.

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What Real Culture Looks Like

Core behaviors like this one are how you build real culture. The kind you can feel when you walk into the building. The kind homeowners recognize the moment one of our team members walks through their door.

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We got so proud of our team's ability to consistently execute on this particular behavior that we made a decision. We changed our company name to High Ground Service Pros to truly embody who we are and what we're about.

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Some might call that extreme. I call it alignment.

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A Question to Ask Yourself

What behaviors do you want your team living out when you're not in the room? Not the ones you hope for. Not the ones you assume. The ones you've actually defined, reinforced, and woven into the fabric of your operation.

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If you can't name them right now, you may have some work to do.

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Because culture isn't what you say in a meeting. It's what your people do in a basement at 9 PM when the easy choice and the right choice aren't the same thing.