How to Create a Transcendent Culture

By Brad Lindemann

​This is the #7 in a 12 part weekly series of excerpts from my book, In Business for Life. I wrote the book to pass along some lessons learned at the crossroads of business and life. My hope being that some could learn from my mistakes and avoid a few head-on collisions. Failing that, my hope is that readers walk away from future collisions with fewer injuries and a fresh perspective on life. Because if you get nothing else out of my book, you truly must get this -- "If you ain't got culture, you ain't got s#*t" (Herb Kelleher, Co-Founder, Southwest Airlines).

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The uniquely inspiring culture of Ambassador Solutions is built upon a firm foundation with a rich history spanning five decades. Our corporate family tree dates back to 1973 with the birth of our “grandparent,” Ambassador Steel, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. One of their early partners was also an early partner in our original parent company, Ambassador Leasing. Beyond common ownership, Ambassador shareholders over the years have shared a common commitment to the deep spiritual meaning behind the namesake of each related Ambassador entity. The following describes the owners' deeply held personal convictions and may not apply to any other employees of Ambassador Solutions. 

Our Namesake

The name Ambassador was derived from a verse in the Bible and is the cornerstone of the personal business philosophy that my partner, Max Frodge, and I have embraced for many years:

“For we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Simply stated, this verse says that those claiming to follow Jesus Christ (as Max and I do) are also called to represent Him (as ambassadors) in whatever walk of life they find themselves, including the marketplace. God may then choose to speak and act through His ambassadors to accomplish His purposes. If that sounds the least bit haughty, it certainly shouldn’t. Accepting the Ambassador for Christ mantle is one of the most humbling acts anyone can ever do. 

Since 1973, Shareholders in every Ambassador entity have sought to serve as “Ambassadors for Christ“—within the marketplaces they served. Today, Max and I truly see our ownership of Ambassador Solutions as a divine calling. However, we are quick to eschew the “Christian company” label that so many ascribe to us. There is no such thing, as only people (not companies) can be Christians. Ambassador Solutions is simply a company owned by Christians, and one that embraces and employs people of a variety of faiths and no faith. We wouldn’t want it any other way.

Our Basic Beliefs

Since our founding in 1989, Max and I have periodically pondered the question, “What does it mean to be an Ambassador for Christ?” We’ve always concluded that the answer begins and ends with people. So, after much debate over many years, in the mid-1990s we adopted what became known as our Basic Beliefs, stating that people:

• Last forever 

• Are of immeasurable worth 

• Are created in the image of God

Given the religious origins of these beliefs, we knew that they needed further translation. Like IBM, Ambassador needed a set of values to which all employees would be expected to subscribe. So, a few years later, we formulated our Core Values (Dignity, Integrity, Excellence). In 2006, we created our Values in Action to illuminate our Core Values by illustrating four practical applications of each. While our company Namesake and Basic Beliefs emanate from our deeply held personal convictions as owners, our Core Values and Values in Action must be embraced by all Ambassador Solutions’ employees.

Our Core Values

The Core Values of Ambassador Solutions are etched in Indiana limestone on the lobby wall of our former corporate headquarters. As such, they represent the distilled essence of our uniquely inspiring culture: 

• Dignity—Nurture the Dignity of All People 

• Integrity—Pursue uncompromised integrity 

• Excellence—Deliver excellence 

To be an Ambassador teammate is to wholeheartedly embrace our Core Values. They are non-negotiable values to “D.I.E.” for. These values serve as our guiding light. While all else might and should change, these values will never change. That’s why we etched them in limestone on our lobby wall.
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All of our employees know that the quickest way to gain my attention is to challenge our practice of these Core Values. Questions such as, “Will this nurture that person’s dignity?” are routinely asked during management meetings. When faced with a particularly difficult decision, we have been known to go into our lobby and literally make the decision while standing in front of the wall with our Core Values upon it. Those values are not on that wall as an outward advertisement, but as a constant internal reminder of how we are supposed to do what we do. Towards that end, every employee is expected to hold every other one accountable to our Core Values…and they do.

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