“To create a fantastic work culture, laugh with your team” with Nick Arambula, COO at Tuft & Needle

Laugh with your team. Work should be fun, and I generally have fun when I’m laughing. This means not taking yourself too seriously. Working in a little self-deprecation is a great way to relate to your team.

As a part of my series about about how leaders can create a “fantastic work culture”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Arambula, Tuft & Needle’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for supply chain, retail, partnerships, employee experience and customer experience. Nick is a reformed CPA from PwC who realized his passion wasn’t in preparing taxes and scouring the tax code. Nick’s quest to depart a career in accounting began when he moved from Phoenix to Chicago to join PwC’s consulting practice. After two years of problem solving for various Fortune 500 companies, he realized he still wasn’t completely fulfilled. A transition to pursue his MBA at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business focused his attention to building a deeper understanding of organizational strategy, operations and individual development. Nick joined Tuft & Needle in 2016 as the Head of Retail, after a little over a year at T&N he took on the role of COO.

He calls Phoenix home with his wife, Jessica, and their two daughters, Chloe and Eva.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was working in San Francisco at an investment firm during the summer of 2015. Much of my decision on where to spend the summer between my first and second year of business school was driven by a desire to secure a stable, somewhat predictable job post-graduation. While I learned a great deal that summer, one thing I was really missing was the human element, specifically, leading others. My wife and I were both born and raised in Arizona, and we always agreed that someday we wanted to find our way home. I was working pretty late one night and started to search start-ups in the Phoenix Area. That is when I stumbled across Tuft & Needle. It took me a couple looks to realize that this company focused on customer experience and product was selling mattresses. I read the founding story and immediately related to the problem T&N was trying to solve. I reached out to a second connection I had on LinkedIn working at T&N, and he responded in less than five minutes. He and I connected and talked at length about how I might be able to help at T&N — most of it centered on people and leading a function that was still in its infancy. When I look back on it all, it still seems somewhat serendipitous. I agreed that before I accepted a job offer elsewhere, I’d get back in touch with them. I began to reflect a great deal on what I wanted to do and where I thought I could make an impact. I’m likely rambling a little at this point; but the story goes that many of my professors and friends thought passing on an investment or consulting job in San Francisco to go work for a mattress company in Phoenix was delusional. But, I couldn’t shake what I wanted to do. I’ve always had a desire to try and start something of my own and have always enjoyed helping others grow and develop. I knew at Tuft & Needle I’d get an opportunity to see what it takes to start and operate a successful business, plus coach and mentor my team. So, I made what for me felt like a risky decision to move home and join a bootstrapped start-up selling mattresses. In retrospect, I couldn’t have picked anything better.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

The most interesting thing, be it story or concept, that I’ve seen since joining T&N is how our team treats our customers. Before joining, I’d learned quite a bit through the interview process about the importance of customer experience and really trying to always begin our thinking around the customer. However, it takes being a member of the company to fully appreciate it.

Fast forward about three years since I joined T&N, and I’m still wowed at our Customer Experience and Retail teams. We’ve been lucky enough to hire a group of remarkably kind, genuine and honest team members who work on behalf of our customer. I think that type of talent and commitment is harder to find today when looking at other organizations’ functions that serve the customer. Our team aims to answer the phone after two rings, will ensure that a return is a seamless experience (should a customer decide to go that route) and never pushes a sale on one of our potential customers. Our team’s commitment to the customer is still one of the most inspiring things about working at Tuft & Needle, and it is a great reminder about the power that exists in treating people with kindness and respect.

Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Tuft & Needle’s retail expansion. It’s been something I’ve been close to from the time I joined T&N. We opened our first store almost four years ago and have most definitely taken our time to expand, but we’re planning to really invest in the growth starting in 2019. It is exciting for the business because it provides us an opportunity to delight our customers and provide a remarkably better shopping experience than what exists today. I’m excited about all the job opportunities we’ll create for future T&N team members and additional opportunities for people that are already a part of our team — we recently had one of our Customer Experience team members transfer to take on the role as our Portland Store Lead.

Ok, lets jump to the main part of our interview. According to this study cited in Forbes, more than half of the US workforce is unhappy. Why do you think that number is so high?

I think the problem is equal parts engagement and empowerment.

From what I’ve seen, many companies do a poor job of engaging their employees. This means asking them for feedback to understand what they view as the challenges facing the business and where there are opportunities to push the business forward. Especially with the younger workforce, many want to feel like they are truly a part of something bigger than themselves. When you don’t engage adequately, it is difficult to ever build that connection.

Additionally, many leaders do a mediocre job of empowering their employees. The one thing I tell my team is that I want them to make the decisions. Obviously, I don’t want to sound too self-righteous because there are times where I play a role in the decision making as well. However, I’d rather see someone make a mistake by taking a risk, then feeling blocked because of fear to try something new.

Based on your experience or research, how do you think an unhappy workforce will impact a) company productivity b) company profitability c) and employee health and wellbeing?

I think all three of those things are impacted in this particular order: first, employee health and wellbeing; second, company productivity and lastly company profitability. By definition, an unhappy workforce is likely a group of individuals that are suffering from degraded health and wellbeing, be it mental or physical. I’m using personal experience here, but I know I don’t do my best work when I don’t feel my best. Therefore, if you accept my personal perspective and apply that to most employees, a group of people not performing at their best will inevitably impact productivity, and not in a positive manner. Thus, the last chip to fall is the financials of the company. In short, take care of our team, align behind the right priorities and if your team can execute, there should be positive results.

Can you share 5 things that managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture? Can you give a personal story or example for each?

Admit fault. Saying you were wrong is something that most people struggle with, but having the humility to admit a mistake can be humanizing and inspiring for your team.

Say thank you. It doesn’t cost anything, and in many cases means everything to others. It’s simple, recognize others.

Laugh with your team. Work should be fun, and I generally have fun when I’m laughing. This means not taking yourself too seriously. Working in a little self-deprecation is a great way to relate to your team.

Be transparent. I’m a believer that by being open with your team about what is going on in the business — good or bad — is better than the alternative. I know it isn’t always possible to be totally transparent for reasons of confidentiality. Piet, T&N’s CEO, has always said “we’ll always aim to be transparent, and be clear when we can’t be transparent.” It’s a great quote, and something I’ve learned from him.

Encourage people to disconnect. Work will always be there, but experiences with your friends and family may not. Our team at T&N is pretty damn engaged. We all use Slack and have it on our phones. I’ve encouraged my team to take time off on multiple occasions; that means to really do it too. Close your computer, ignore your phone and take some time to decompress.

It’s very nice to suggest ideas, but it seems like we have to “change the culture regarding work culture”. What can we do as a society to make a broader change in the US workforce’s work culture?

I’d look back to my answer on how to create a happier, energized workforce; I believe it comes back to engagement and empowerment. If more organizations focused on those concepts with employees, I think it could fundamentally change how our country brings the voice of the employee to the forefront of the discussion on work culture. My belief is leveraging what employees think when it comes to work culture would only lead to outcomes that better reflect what employees want to see in the work environment. Ultimately, creating cultures that better reflect what the US population wants to see will inevitably lead to a larger population in the US who are happy with the culture delivered in the workplace.

How would you describe your leadership or management style? Can you give us a few examples?

Stylistically and fundamentally, I want to be someone that my team trusts and engages. I think that is achieved by embodying three characteristics:

• Approachability. I hope everyone at Tuft & Needle feels comfortable reaching out to me with a question, feedback or just to chat. No topic is too big or too small to discuss.
• Authenticity. I strive to be open and real with my team. By operating authentically and transparently, I can bring the most honest version of myself to work. It is my hope that in doing that my team realizes I’m always going to give my real opinion regardless of the circumstances, and they trust me be genuine when discussing any topic at work.
• Accountability. This one is really about follow-through with my team. If I tell them I’m going to do something, I want to make sure I do it. If I forget to, or fall short, it is about admitting that and doing my best to rectify the situation. I apply that same logic back to my team. If they have made commitments to execute or deliver, I have expectation that they’ll follow through as well.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

One of my close friends, Zack. He passed almost five years ago, but I do my best to try and keep his memory alive. It would be next to impossible to capture the depth of our friendship and the impact he made on my life with a quick response; so, I’ll focus on one of the many things he taught me: help others. Zack didn’t always have a lot, and in many cases needed more than what he had. Nevertheless, Zack’s greatest quality was his unwavering willingness to help people. It was almost second nature for him. You can ask any of our elementary, junior high and high school friends who they would call if they needed help and Zack would be the first person that would come to mind. So like I said, while Zack isn’t here anymore, I do my best to remember him and do my part to always help others

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I’m going to use something that one of my team members once said to me. We were chatting about how my wife and I had just welcomed our second child, a second little girl, into the world. We waited to find out the sex until she was born. My team member told me, “I knew you were going to have a girl, because you empower women and will raise great daughters.” That stuck with me and is something I think about often. It is also one of the kindest things someone has said to me. As a father of two girls, it is important to me that they both are told, and believe, that they will always have my support and can achieve what they set out to do (provided they are willing to work incredibly hard and encounter some luck along the way). I also try to extend that type of thinking to colleagues. What it really boils down to is trying to make an impact on an individual level so that someone would walk away from a relationship we’ve formed feeling as though I helped him or her become a better version of himself or herself.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Someone much wiser than me used to always say to me and my classmates, “culture is about how you talk to and talk about people.” I find it simple, yet profound. If you consider it in the context of operating a business and building a team, it makes perfect sense. Many companies today have remarkable fringe benefits like dry cleaning and “a-food-truck-workout-station” (one of my more recent favorites). Those benefits are unique and undoubtedly nice to have, but I don’t believe they are what matter most, or what matter most to people. Speaking directly, authentically and honestly with team members is exponentially more impactful. That means having the difficult conversations when someone might require critical feedback, giving support when one might be going through a difficult time and providing praise when one is deserving of recognition. The talking to people part is certainly more achievable, but the way you talk about people is significantly more challenging. I know, I still struggle with it at times. We’ve all been there before, frustrated with a co-worker, and we opt to vent rather than share our perspective directly with him or her. In closing, that quote is something I think about daily, and I encourage others to as well. I most definitely fall short some days, but I’m doing my best to make sure I incorporate it into my actions every day.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I think pushing people to lead with empathy. All too often we walk into situations with preconceived notions about others that create biases from the beginning. I think bias in interactions manifests itself in a massive way when you look at our current political climate. Much of the way citizens on opposite sides of an issue speak to each other is dictated by an individual opinion on who the other person “might be” because of their opinion on a topic. This is where I think empathy is so powerful. Place yourself in the shoes of others, think about how and why one might have an opinion or experience that is different than your own and attempt to understand a perspective that might not be your own. More understanding people would lead to a more understanding world, and I think we could use that right now.

As a more quick fix, I’d encourage people to eat more Jeni’s Ice Cream. It’s delicious and can bring a lot of happiness to the world.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you continued success!