The most successful brands all have something in common—people LOVE to work there. And it’s not just because of name recognition or competitive salaries. It’s because those brands realize that inspired employees are not only a clutch component of a thriving business, but also the best brand ambassadors around.

Take Care of Business

Your success starts with ideas, but it’s your people who manifest that vision into reality. In the case of a brand, you aren’t necessarily what you eat, but you are who you hire. If you want to thrive—hire good people. They are the backbone of your success as a company. Bring on creative, energetic employees who share your vision, are willing to work hard to see it realized and are excited to be a part of the entire process—the good, the bad and the ugly. Then give them a mandate to be great and expect them to follow through on it.

Once you’ve got your team out kicking ass and taking names, make sure to take care of the people who take care of business. Not many of us get a kick out of working for nothing—whether we’re talking money, culture or vision. Do right by them: Pay them well and offer good benefits, let them take a vacation or two every year, encourage their genius, respect their intelligence and abilities, and look after their welfare.

Leverage Your Employees and Their Genius

You hire people because they’re smart and good at what they do. So why not leverage their creativity to help your brand problem solve, overcome challenges and innovate? You’ll be surprised at the groundbreaking ideas they have—all you have to do in most cases is ask.

Building a culture of participation and ownership does take a commitment to an environment wherein the success of "us," "our" and "we" are sacred cows. It’s not easy and it’s something you’ll never “be done” with. But it’s so worth it—dare we mention Google? Or Zappos? REI? Costco? You get the picture. You have to build and uphold those principles as part of your corporate structure from the bottom up. In this way you ensure that accountability to achieve is a two-way street.

Give ‘Em Somethin’ to Talk About

Your employees are (or should be) your best ambassadors. Give them a brand to believe in and evangelize about. Take (again) Google, Zappos, REI and Costco. The best of the best are falling over themselves to work at these companies. And those that do are more than willing to tell you how awesome their jobs are.

All of these brands work relentlessly to foster an environment where employees can operate at their highest potential and find fulfillment in doing so. It’s no coincidence they are so successful, nor is it sheer luck that employees gush about working for them. Beyond creating an environment where genius and innovation can flourish, they intentionally inspire their team to spread the word.

Like these über-brands, you should absolutely encourage brand evangelism from your employees. There doesn’t need to be a rule in your employee handbook that mandates employees blog, tweet and put their company game face on at every event they attend—but give them the training and tools to do these things if they’re so inclined. Your employees are fantastic storytellers, but they need a mandate and a medium to be heard.

Amplify the Volume of Your Storytelling

Involve your employees in your storytelling; give your brand faces to stand behind your name. Southwest Airlines has done a bang up job of highlighting the quirky culture they cultivate by putting their employees front and center in advertising campaigns and by involving them in internal strategy as well. Their “Bags Fly Free” commercials have been a huge success, partially because they highlight the genuine investment these workers make daily towards the success of their company.

Bottom Line

Hire people you believe in and trust the people you hire. Give them your story, set some guidelines and let them run with it. If you’ve done YOUR job well, your brand’s story—and culture—will be all the more vibrant and compelling for it. We’re hoping we don’t have to hit you over the head with a branded Riley Weiss baseball bat to make you understand that the result—a thriving brand culture—can translate into a measurable boost for your bottom line.