Click through the Facebook Photo Album of the event — those smiles never got any smaller or less bright the entire time I was at Protection 1 presenting the Dealer of the Year award.

Ok,  so you probably thought "Disney World!" at first when you read the title of this blog, but that’s not where I was. I actually was visiting Protection 1’s Wichita, Kansas-located branch to present the SDM 2012 Dealer of the Year trophy to the company and its employees, and I have to say it might take a close second to Disney World.

You can tidy up or rehearse speeches if you want to when you know someone is coming to visit, but you can’t fake genuine enthusiasm; so unless Protection 1 managed to hire 400+ Oscar-winning-caliber actors at its Wichita branch, the level of fun, passion, and energy I saw in the employees during the two days I spent there for the award presentation and while touring the facility was pretty incredible.

Click through the Facebook Photo Album of the event — those smiles never got any smaller or less bright the entire time I was at the company.

I knew a lot of things would stand out to me during my visit, but nothing shone as brightly as the corporate culture that Protection 1 has been strategically overhauling since it was acquired by GTCR in 2010.

Multiple new employee programs, the demeanor of the new management team, the payoff from a very targeted hiring and recruitment process, all combined with the fresh thinking, team successes, momentum, and passion for the customer have marinated into a very evidently positive, yes, happy, environment at Protection 1.

Yes, I am sure the employees still have bad days. There remain everyday struggles and life’s unexpected bumps in the road for employees to navigate. But every day when they come to work they clearly enter a supportive environment their fellow employees will bring them up, not down and they are valued. I heard so many great stories about people within Protection 1 who have changed departments, rapidly been promoted or had entirely new positions created for them so they could showcase skills they are passionate about.  Add the inherent satisfaction of saving lives and helping the customer, Protection 1’s No. 1 focus, and it really is a happy place.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and getting to experience the environment there in person, and I’m looking forward to sharing some more of the conversations I had, some insightful Q&As, animated round tables and also some of the new drivers and programs that Protection 1 has put in place to enable such a positive culture.