Family First, Innovation Always: Building Company Core Values That Employees Actually Remember

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When companies build values around family priorities, automation eliminates mundane work, and consistent customer presence across years, retention improves, satisfaction increases, and J-curve growth emerges from compounding loyalty.

In this episode of Fountain of Vitality, LaMont Leavitt, CEO of InnoviHealth, reveals the MIDAS framework transforming workplace culture through values that prioritize employee wellbeing alongside business objectives. MIDAS represents Means to an End (family first), Innovative thinking (automation without fear), Dependable execution (customer focus), positive Attitude (adversity as asset), and Self-starter mentality (capturing inspiration). Through personal stories about bosses supporting health crises, strategies for treating junior customers like major accounts, and wisdom about growing into business over decades, LaMont offers actionable guidance for leaders building cultures where employees want to stay and customers remember service quality years later. His framework challenges assumptions about productivity requiring employee sacrifice and short-term thinking maximizing profits.

M: Means to an End (Family First)  

The foundation of MIDAS begins with remembering why work exists: supporting lives and families rather than becoming life's defining purpose. Leavitt argues executives forget what early-career challenges felt like when they weren't calling shots. Employees requesting time off for family weddings, funerals, or children's ball games encounter resistance when company goals misalign with personal life priorities, creating resentment undermining engagement.

Leavitt shares a formative experience from his career when his daughter faced a serious health challenge. His boss recognized the situation and said words that shaped Leavitt's leadership philosophy: "Take care of your family first. Everything else is going to work out here. Don't worry about it. These other two guys will take care of what you're doing. You can take care of your daughter and your family."

That support during a difficult period created loyalty lasting years beyond the crisis resolution. Leavitt stayed with that company far longer than he might have otherwise because his direct report had his back when it mattered most. This illustrates the retention ROI of family-first cultures. Employees working hard for leaders who work hard for them create virtuous cycles where turnover decreases and company loyalty increases.

The best managers recognize when employees are "off" even when they don't explicitly discuss problems. Actions reveal challenges, whether through changed performance, altered demeanor, or decreased engagement. Rather than rushing to performance improvement plans or terminations, effective leaders investigate causes. Family member deaths, pet losses, or relationship challenges temporarily impact work output. Supporting employees through these periods creates lasting bonds outweighing short-term productivity dips.

I: Innovative (Automation Without Fear)  

Innovation requires asking how to accomplish important tasks more efficiently while embracing failure as a learning opportunity. Leavitt encourages throwing spaghetti on walls to see what sticks, making decisions rather than paralyzed by perfect solution pursuits. He argues failure to act often constitutes the biggest failure, worse than attempting strategies that don't work. When ideas fail, organizations learn what doesn't work, retool approaches, pivot strategies, and move forward with accumulated knowledge. This mindset transforms setbacks into stepping stones. Leavitt emphasizes continuous process automation and task streamlining, particularly leveraging AI tools to make automation less boring and more satisfying than previous eras.

If employees achieve 10-30 percent efficiency gains through automation, companies benefit from documented processes while employees experience higher satisfaction automating tasks they least enjoy. Mundane, time-consuming work gets eliminated through tools, freeing human capital for higher-value activities requiring creativity and judgment. However, Leavitt cautions against introducing every innovation immediately. Leaders generating many ideas should shelf some until appropriate timing arrives. The Kaizen continuous improvement philosophy works well when innovations get scheduled appropriately across quarters rather than overwhelming organizations with simultaneous changes. An idea unsuitable for the next quarter might fit perfectly six or nine months forward when plotted on strategic calendars during quarterly planning sessions.

D: Dependable (Customer Focus Over Tasks)  

Dependability means teams and customers can count on follow-through, availability when needed, and focus on goals without letting tasks obstruct customer service. Leavitt distinguishes between being dependable to task lists versus being dependable to customers and coworkers. When unexpected situations arise, customer happiness takes precedence over predetermined objectives. He advocates saying what you'll do and doing what you say while avoiding hypocrisy. When unable to meet commitments, apologize and set realistic expectations rather than creating false promises. Customers and colleagues understand when informed honestly about delays, causes, and revised timelines. They appreciate transparency acknowledging "X, Y, and Z happened; I haven't forgotten you; this matters to me, and I expect completion at this time."

Organizations cannot over-communicate with customers and internal stakeholders. Leavitt recommends erring toward excessive communication rather than insufficient updates. Current business culture built on email silence, delayed responses, and phone avoidance creates opportunities for companies to differentiate through responsiveness, transparency, and authentic communication. His grandfather's wisdom applies: "You grow into business." Building sustainable enterprises requires time and consistency, always showing up and being present. Companies surviving beyond two to four years into decade-long operations require this staying power.

Even small customers deserve million-dollar account treatment because junior buyers become procurement executives five to fifteen years later. When early-career professionals receive exceptional service, they remember. As they get promoted or change companies into positions with larger budgets and staff oversight, they bring entire departments on board with vendors who treated them well initially. These experiences signal companies hitting their stride, achieving J-curve growth through compounded relationship investment.

A: Attitude (Adversity as Asset)  

Attitude permeates organizations like cancer when negative or like fertilizer when positive. Leavitt acknowledges everyone has worked with backstabbing coworkers climbing corporate ladders regardless of who gets hurt. Those toxic individuals don't have colleagues' best interests at heart. He encourages finding workplaces where making differences alongside positive people becomes possible. Positive attitude remains a choice in thoughts and actions. When real issues arise, don't ignore them or allow them to fester, but don't sweat the small stuff either.

Being team players who make workplaces great requires viewing adversity as an asset. Energy, enjoyment, drive, and dedication stimulate and inspire others. Being yourself without getting thrown off by events, whether good or bad, maintains equilibrium. Rather than organizational nay-saying declaring ideas won't work, transform impossible situations into challenges through innovative thinking. Positivity feeds on itself when others adopt similar mindsets, enabling idea flow and creative problem-solving that negativity stifles.

S: Self-Starter (Capturing Inspiration)  

Self-starters don't need micromanagement, following processes and principles while innovating best solutions and moving forward confidently. When teams exist to catch errors and correct courses, individuals can act decisively without paralysis. Leavitt emphasizes capturing inspiration flashes arriving early in the morning or late at night. He keeps sticky notes recording ideas that sometimes seem irrelevant to current projects but merit future development.

Inspiration often arrives fully formed rather than gradually, signaling ideas worth preserving for later fleshing out. Being your own best motivator remains critical because motivating employees isn't anyone else's job. When self-motivation disappears, make changes to restore your best self through diet improvements, exercise, time with others, or engaging meaningful projects. Self-starters drive organizational performance because external motivation cannot sustain long-term excellence.

Taking Action on Core Values  

LaMont Leavitt's MIDAS framework offers practical guidance for leaders building cultures where employees want to stay, customers remember service, and growth compounds across years. Testing core value effectiveness is simple: ask any employee to list them. If they cannot recite even one or two, internal communication problems exist or values don't resonate sufficiently to spread from employees to customers. Core values should be foundations and cornerstones, not wall decorations. Employees must know, feel, and espouse them daily. When this happens, values radiate outward, creating competitive advantages through culture differentiation in markets where most companies treat employees as disposable and customers as transactions.

Learn more about how to implement core values that transform workplace culture on the Fountain of Vitality podcast. Visit InnoviHealth to learn more about building medical technology tools with core values that prioritize family, innovation, dependability, attitude, and self-starting initiative.

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