Be Gumby: Leadership Lessons From The Container Store
Do you remember Gumby?
You know…the adorable green clay figure who could bend and stretch every which way. Made famous by the (at the time) amazing power of stop motion clay animation.
Image via Creative Commons
The general premise of the show, which ran for thirty-five years, was that he always managed to find himself in a difficult situation. But, of course, he stretched and bent his way out of every predicament.
That’s who The Container Store wants their people to be. One of their mantras is “Be Gumby.”
It’s a memorable way to remind their team members to bend over backwards for their customers and each other.
I’d never heard of The Container Store until a recent trip to Indianapolis. As the name suggests, it’s an entire store dedicated to…you guessed it, containers. (Men, I know, this makes no sense to us, but my wife loves it. And I will admit there are a few cool things in there…you know, manly type things.)
