The Carden Group helps empower organizations to cultivate fulfilling work environments.
The Carden Group has been in business for over two and a half decades, and its mission is built on one simple philosophy: organizations must foster environments that people enjoy working in.
Owner Chad Carden has known he wanted to be in the people business since he was 14 years old. At 25, Chad broke away from the Carnegie franchise he was working under and started The Carden Group. Though Chad is originally from Hermosa, California, he transplanted to Jefferson City, where he and his team are able to run the entire business.
“I would say that about 60% of our portfolio right now comes from the network in Jefferson City,” he says. “And it really is a great community that has been very supportive of what we do.”
At The Carden Group, Chad and his team focus on how to help business organizations create strong working relationships and how to help people engage in their work, understand their work, and see work as something they enjoy doing. In accomplishing this, employees of these organizations begin to see improved results in their work life.
“Everyone has value or an impact,” Chad says. “With most people, though, that gets lost in the noise of everyday life. We help create initiatives that drive respect, engagement, and fulfillment.”
The Carden Group has worked with organizations from over 40 countries in 15 different languages. “The Four Pillars of a World-Class Culture” is an eBook The Carden Group has published that discusses how leaders can retain and engage their workforce. In this book, Chad says that clarity, alignment, purpose, and communication need to be integrated into everything.
“Are we clear on the direction you’re headed?” Chad asks organization leaders. “Do we agree? Do people understand their part, their impact of what they do, and why it matters? How do we communicate with each other?”
“Do people understand their part, their impact of what they do, and why it matters?”
Chad Carden
He also emphasizes that if it doesn’t matter to the boss, it’s not going to matter to the employees. In order for an organization to truly thrive, the highest-ranking workers must be passionate about engaging and maintaining those who work for them. The Carden Group’s approach to helping organizations is using a perfected formula to set their clients up for the highest probability of success. With this formula, the Carden Group first must create a vision that aligns with the goals of the key stakeholders.
“What are we trying to accomplish?” Chad asks them. “What are the goals and expectations?”
The Carden Group must understand each business it works with — sometimes better than the business leaders themselves. They use what they call a “360 viewpoint” by visiting with all members and workers to fully understand the organization’s multiple layers.
“It’s dangerous to just take it from a key stakeholder’s lens,” Chad says. “They might have blind spots they don’t even know about.”
After gaining a better understanding of the businesses they’re working with, the Carden Group creates a customized plan for their clients.
“I think that’s one of the things that we really do well,” Chad says. “I don’t have anything off the shelf. It’s not baked. It’s not just a prepackaged thing that we hand out or deliver. It truly is customized to meet them where they’re at, meet them where their current environment is, and make it real.”
Of course, after Chad and his team leave these organizations, their initiative has to be sustainable.
“Their actions have to be a commitment and an investment — not just of dollars but of time, energy, effort, and making sure that it really sticks,” Chad says.
Eventually, The Carden Group wants to work their way out and away from the organizations after creating resources on the inside that can take over what they did.
“We want to create self-sustainment over time,” Chad says. “The amount of time that takes depends on how large the organization is and how large the initiative is. It might be six months. It might be a year. Sometimes, we have stayed with people for four or five years. We want to make sure that they’re confident, comfortable, and competent to continue the initiative.”