Culture Study: CPL Investments Culture Fulfillment

As an active member of the Entrepreneurs Organization, I get the unique opportunity to network with and meet like minded leaders locally, nationally and even around the world. In 2019, I took my role as Culture Czar® on the road as a featured speaker to other EO Chapters. This effort brought me places as far away as Indonesia and as close as Indianapolis. It was at an EO Indianapolis Chapter Workshop where I met Constantine Linos, Principal at CPL Investments. Instantly upon meeting Constantine, I recognized that he too was a Culture Czar at his core. I was pleased to receive a call from Constantine in the Spring of 2020 with a request to lead his company’s culture retreat. 

CPL Investments was launched in 2010 with an entrepreneurial spirit and a unique mentorship strategy. Constantine worked hand-in-hand with his grandfather-in-law to immerse himself in his investing strategies & diverse portfolio to create the private investment real estate lending company which is now known as CPL Investments. Where Constantine was once at the helm in his solo-entrepreneurial start, he has since grown a robust team of thinkers and problem solvers. In March of 2019 Constantine and his team began to implement the Entrepreneurial Operating System® within their business. As you may know from The Culture Fix®, at Culture Czars we are avid practitioners of EOS® simply because you cannot build a great corporate culture in the midst of chaos. By increasing these efficiencies and the bandwidth of CPL, they have loaned more than $40.5 million in their 10 year history- an 800% growth from day 1. 

But behind the numbers and their financial business strategies lies something that we know is just as important, their values. From inception, the business was far more meaningful than simply flipping real estate. The principals at CPL have found the most excitement when partnering with real estate investors making a positive impact both locally and in their surrounding communities. With that said, CPL has a unique approach to partnering with their clients, with a focus on mentorship for running a successful, scalable business. By providing this strategic coaching and educational tools to their clients, they enable their clients to make logical & objective decisions.

Like many successful businesses, there was already an underlying dedication to their values. Constantine used these values to not only successfully hire & grow his team, but he used them in vetting clients and lending partners. “Hire people you want to retire with. They are in this journey with me to be successful, and we are going to be in it to the end. Not only do I want the right group with me, but I need to build the business around their success as well.” Clearly, these strategies have proven to bring a level of success to CPL investments simply by their existence and the passion that Constantine has for them. However, just take a look at the document that was provided to us of their original Investments Values- it just looks like it has been shoved into a drawer the day after orientation, never to be seen again. According to one of his team members the values were there and talked about but just didn’t mean much. “Everybody values relationships, everybody values communication. They were boring, and it just seemed like the typical corporate values that everyone was used to”. With the fine tuning of their organizational structure and practices well underway thanks to the implementation of EOS®, CPL Investments was creating a strong foundation for our future work together that would build a stronger culture to stand the test of time.  

Constantine created a strong and historied set of CoreVals™, but what he was missing was a Valued Culture. With that said, Constantine brought us his team’s feedback as an effort to bring the values he created to life in a way that would stick with his team as much as they did him. “I knew that I personally had to implement this effort myself. If someone else did, I would take a back seat and maybe not embrace it as much as I should. And with me spearheading this effort, it put me in the trenches and forced me to not only be the visionary and integrator but also the implementor”. The path forward was clear, and it was all set to be kicked off with their first culture retreat in June of 2020. Even prior to arrival at the retreat, Will had kicked off his Culture Fulfillment Program with team surveys and also one-on-one interviews so he was already primed when he began his facilitation of the retreat.

The first order of business at the lake-side retreat? Yoga on the dock! But next came an open discussion with the team leading to a CoreVal™ facelift. We needed to get all of the essence from that wordy, rubric document and create something that would shine on the walls of their office for all to see.

BALANCE is a huge focus for Constantine and his team. The original values state “We thoughtfully think through the implications of our decisions as it impacts our customers, our team members, and our long term success. By focusing on others before ourselves, everyone can be seen as a giver.” At its core, this is an amazing message for each and every stakeholder in the organization. But what if we took that sentiment and created an image that was the anchor for our optimized set of CoreVals™? The aha! moment for CPL was when we realized that what they really strive for is a Zen-like balance. Once we found the perfect imagery, the rest became an exercise in prioritization and focus. Take a look at the CoreChart™ that we created to reflect their updated CoreVals. Instead of a page worth of words to digest, we created a to-the-point, memorable and recitable document that continues to reflect the original intent. We also added in an overall Core Purpose™ to tie it all together. Check them out:

Core Purpose By 2023, we will execute 500 real estate deals worth $60,000,000 for 20 investors and 200 borrowers so that we leave a lasting legacy of security and freedom for 500 families and over 2,000 souls in our neighborhood of Central Indiana. 

Relationships WE prioritize people & think long term 

Communication WE are open and honest & embrace brave conversations

Balance WE empathize & seek harmony

Structure WE build solid footings & care to do it right

Growth WE create legacies & focus on extraordinary results

Their new & direct Core Values not only provide the same sentiment as the previous set, but a stunning visual to share with all of the stakeholders. What’s more, it is something that will stick in the minds of the team with each action and each nomination for other team members getting caught in the act of committing CoreVals. CPL is also looking forward to adding these values into their proven process materials so that they can ensure that they also remain a focus for current and prospective clients. 

According to Stefani Stout, Office Manager and Fractional Integrator, “There have been times where an applicant has an amazing credit score and everything on paper, but when you sit down and talk about how they do business, realize they aren’t a match.” These values have always and will continue to be a great resource to not only confirm a client’s fit with the business but enable the team to make the right decisions on behalf of the business as a whole. 

Since the retreat, the entire team has a newly invigorated passion for the business,its impact and their role within its growth. While the journey from having values to growing a valued culture well underway for CPL Investments, the work has really just begun. Managing this newfound culture is key to its long term success. Stefani mentioned that they are looking forward to their Quarterly Rocks Meeting in November, where they can discuss some new initiatives and applications of their values, as well as a yearly culture-focused retreat. Meanwhile, I have enjoyed occasional meetings with the team to hear about how they are keeping this energy alive. Now that they have their new Core Values chart, I encourage its use in the daily activities of the business from meetings to Happy Hours and beyond. Additionally, I am looking forward to learning about how they are shouting out their colleagues when they are ‘caught’ in the act of committing a CoreVal™. 

Constantine also pointed out that Will likes to talk about ROC™ or “Return on Culture” so it was exciting for me to share one story with a potential new investor. The ink was barely dry on our new CoreChart™ when I thought I would try out our CorePurpose™ on a new investor. It was amazing how our desire to not just show a return on his investment but also to provide a “lasting legacy of security and freedom” resonated with him. “That’s exactly what I want he said!” This story shows how culture is not just a soft corporate initiative; it delivers hard returns when leaders don’t just lead a company but truly lead a culture. 

When I was talking to Constantine for this Case Study, what was meant to be a 15 minute call turned into a 50 minute discussion on business philosophy & how much he loves what he does and the people he does it with. In fact, his wife even had to let him know that the two of us were getting so excited about our discussion that we nearly woke his napping baby in the next room. Now that’s having passion for your team. When finishing up our final reflections on his 10 year business journey and looking towards the future of his culture-first business, he commented that “It (a culture-first business) may not be lucrative in the short run, but in the long run it's the only way to do it.” 

If you find your business in a similar situation of “core values, so what?” check out The Culture Fix: 9 Deeds in 90 Days®.