Nurturing the soul of the company at EILEEN FISHER, Inc.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The vast majority of case studies in the management literature looks at the failings of leadership and at what is wrong with various elements of organizational design and practice. This article takes a different perspective, the perspective that there is great value in studying and learning from organizations that are values-centered, principle driven, and consciously embracing workplace spirituality. EILEEN FISHER, Inc., a women’s fashion company, has been admired for many years for its specific spiritual practices as well as its attendant human resources and social responsibility practices. The article reviews the founding and early history of the organization with a focus on the development and maintenance of organizational soul through the establishment of values, practices, and policies. Then, the authors summarize the results of interviews about organizational soul with 16 employees from representative levels and departments and offer suggestions for how other organizations might emulate some of the best of the practices of EILEEN FISHER, Inc.