Now Live : 2025 Global Most Loved Workplaces® — See the Top 100 Companies
The 2025 America’s Top 100 is live. See the list →
The 2025 America’s Top 100 is live. See the list →
Hello folks! Welcome back to a brand new episode of The Leader Show with Lou Carter. As Lou is away traveling, Scott Baxt, the head of research at Most Loved Workplace, is stepping in to host this episode. Our guest today is Brian Scudamore, the founder and CEO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, a comprehensive junk removal company that caters to various regions across the United States.
So, without further ado, let’s find out what makes O2E Brands (the parent company of 1-800-GOT-JUNK) a Most Loved Workplace®.
Scott gets the ball rolling by mentioning that they are in the process of developing the 2023 Most Loved Workplace list on Newsweek, including a new Global List to be published in May and the US list in October.
Brian’s company has now been featured twice on the list, an inspiring achievement in Scott’s book. Brian highlights that the key to their success is the philosophy that “it’s all about people.” On that note, he shares a story about how he learned this lesson early in his business career, when he realized that he had the wrong team and was forced to part ways with his entire company.
Since then, he has focused on finding the right people and treating them with respect- a guiding philosophy his company has held for over 25 years and has helped them achieve recognition on the Most Loved Workplace list.
Subsequently, Scott asks Brian about how they incorporate passion in the workplace. Brian responds by citing OE2 Brand’s Can You Imagine program, where they encourage their employees to dream big and come up with ideas that can propel both the company and their careers forward.
Brian believes in making magic happen and doing big things, and at their office, they have a wall called the “Can You Imagine” wall, where employees can share their ideas and commitments, as they work together as a team to make big things happen.
Moving on, Scott asks Brian how they have been able to allow employees to take risks without the fear of failure. Brian mentions his book, “WTF: Willing to Fail,” and how they embrace a WTF attitude in their workplace. He suggests that O2E Brands encourages its employees to make mistakes and learn from them but not to be irresponsible.
Overall, Brian believes in learning from mistakes and using them to make themselves and the company grow. He also talks about how firing his entire team was a failure of his leadership and how he was able to learn from it and find the right people moving forward.
Next, Scott asks Brian about the managerial philosophy at O2E Brands and how it plays a role in building trust and incorporating passion in the workplace. Brian emphasizes the importance of leadership over management and believes that leaders inspire followers and guide them toward excellence. He believes that leadership is about inspiring people with a shared vision and guiding them toward their career goals.
At O2E Brands, they take ordinary people and businesses and make them exceptional through their formula for success. They do things differently by leading, not managing.
According to Brian, connecting with his employees on a daily basis, and celebrating wins together is of the utmost importance. It helps bring the whole company together once a day to get up to speed as to what’s going on, what’s going well, what they are worried about, and what’s on their mind.
Celebrating wins every day, no matter how challenging a day is, is also a part of the company’s culture. He also mentions the accountability that comes with applying for awards like Most Loved Workplace, as they use the feedback they receive to make the company better.
Scott mentions the importance of continuous learning and the Most Loved Workplace award, which has been running for three years. He then asks Brian how the current economic uncertainty affects their role in running a people-centric organization like O2E Brands, where tough decisions must be made while still prioritizing the needs of the employees.
In reply, Brian emphasizes the importance of transparent communication during challenging times to prevent fear and uncertainty from affecting the company culture. He acknowledges that economic uncertainty can impact people’s decisions and that the company works hard to communicate openly and honestly with its employees.
They also check in with the employees and ask how they’re doing and what’s on their minds. And to prevent employee turnover, they try setting new goals and revising their approach to their work.
Lastly, Brian Scudamore highlights how the Most Loved Workplace recognition process has helped O2E Brands to learn and make changes that move the needle upwards. One of the key learnings has been recognizing employees’ diversity and individual goals. For instance, they offer employees the flexibility to take time off to celebrate any significant holiday with their loved ones, given that people observe different holidays.
Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of trust in building an organization that wants to be “Most Loved.” Scudamore believes that finding the right people and treating them right is the key to creating a “Most Loved Workplace®.”
Thank you for listening!
