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LOS ANGELES — Dale Carlsen did not talk about sales tactics or growth strategies when he looked out at 1,400 cheering Mattress Firm employees here the other day. He was heading in a different direction altogether.
The new president and chief strategy officer of Mattress Firm Holding Corp., one of the most respected bedding executives in the country, spoke candidly about what was missing in his life as he led his California-based Sleep Train chain to success. He talked about opening more stores, but feeling an emptiness in his life. “I didn’t have a purpose,” he said
That was just one personal revelation shared by the company’s leaders during their annual national leadership conference here, and it was a particularly important one. Carlsen explained how he drove that emptiness from his life, and as he did so he outlined the new purpose, vision and values that will be at the heart of Mattress Firm for years to come.
Happiness, Carlsen declared, comes from “true purpose.” For him, it came when he was surrounded by great people at work, and when a customer said he got a great night of sleep on a mattress from Sleep Train. It came from the joy of Sleep Train employees who saved their money and bought their first house, and from the joy of a 12-year-old boy in foster care who got his first pair of shoes in five years, thanks to help from Sleep Train.
“We were doing more than just selling mattresses,” Carlsen recalled. “We were doing something special, something that filled my heart with joy. We were changing lives.”
Those feelings, shared by many Mattress Firm employees, are embodied in the new purpose statement crafted by Mattress Firm and Sleep Train employees after their two organizations were united last year in a blockbuster Mattress Firm acquisition. The purpose: “Improving lives one relationship at a time.”
The Mattress Firm employees cheered when Carlsen revealed that new purpose. “You need a purpose greater than you,” he said, calling on his colleagues to focus on their guests, their co-workers, their partners, and their community, giving each the attention they deserve.
He said the Mattress Firm employees can build trust by demonstrating their values, and by sharing the same values. Integrity, Carlsen continued, is the “No. 1 value.” The audience cheered that statement. Integrity is “the hardest value to have as a business,” he said.
The 1,400 Mattress Firm employees listening to Carlsen’s address at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Los Angeles found laminated cards in their chairs listing the purpose, vision and values that will define the new Mattress Firm, a company that operates stores from high-volume markets in California across the country to states along the Atlantic coast, with dozens of states in between.
Carlsen defined integrity as “doing what’s right when no one is looking.” Integrity also means being honest with yourself and others, and demonstrating company values by being consistent in decisions and execution, the company’s values statement says.
Another key value at Mattress Firm is service, which Carlsen said is not just taking care of the company’s customers. “Servant leadership means putting others’ needs before your own — and giving back to the community,” he said. Another definition of service: consistently exceeding the expectations of the people around you, officials said.
The third key Mattress Firm value is passion, Carlsen said. That means a passion for giving back to the community. “The consumer wants to shop at stores that care,” he said. “And it’s the right thing to do.” Mattress Firm is giving its employees two paid days off to serve the local charity of their choice, Carlsen announced. And the company will provide payroll deductions for charitable gifts.
Both Mattress Firm and Sleep Train have long histories of giving back to the communities they serve.
Mattress Firm has been a leading retail contributor to the fight against pancreatic cancer, helping raise millions of dollars for research. Roger Magowitz, the founder of the Seena Magowitz Foundation, is the executive director of the Mattress Firm Foundation and helps lead the retailer’s pancreatic cancer fundraising efforts.
Sleep Train has been a big supporter of programs to aid foster children. That campaign will continue, Carlsen said. Mattress Firm puts its charitable programs under a “Give Big” umbrella, and those programs are making a big difference in the communities the company serves, Carlsen said.
Passion at Mattress Firm also means living with a spirit of optimism and enthusiasm every day, the company said. Carlsen modeled that approach to life in his talk. “I love you and I’m looking forward to working with you,” he said. The audience gave him a standing ovation.
