Our 2014 edition of the Good Company Index Report contains a hopeful message: the good guys keep winning.

The report is a follow-up study on the behavior of Fortune 500 companies, first published in our book Good Company: Business Success in the Worthiness Era. The report contains an updated Good Company Index (GCI), which we use to assign grades to nearly 300 of America's largest companies based on their record as employers, sellers, and stewards of communities and the environment. The top-ranked companies in the Fortune 100 this year are Apple, Ford Motor Company, and United Parcel Service.

We also analyze company stock market performance based on the previous GCI grades we assigned in 2012. The results? On average, those companies with higher 2012 GCI grades significantly outperformed their industry peers in the two years that followed. The median outperformance was 5.1 percentage points, with almost 60 percent of the higher-ranked companies outperforming their lower-ranked competitors.

Further, a live portfolio comprised of the top-scoring companies on the 2012 GCI, invested since October 2012, outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 average (total return, including dividends) by 17 percentage points in its first two years, ending October 1, 2014 (see figure below). The Good Company Index is used by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance to manage both their Engaged Company Stock Index and their People Centric Annual Awards.

Be sure to check out the full 2014 Good Company Index Report for complete details on the latest ratings!

About McBassi & Company
McBassi is a human capital analytics firm that helps organizations improve their performance through more effective management and development of people. We have proprietary research-based measurement methods, the analytic know-how, and a proven track record in serving as a catalyst for change and generating win-win results.

The Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For" list is out. There are some new organizations and some old organizations on the list. Some organizations have moved up, while others have moved down. The reasons remain pretty much the same. Organizations on the list create nice places to work by doing and giving things that employees seem to like. Soo, how about the other hundreds of thousands of organizations where people work? Could we call them "better places to work" or "good places to work"?

I think that the employees who work in a particular organization can make it a mighty fine place to work. That being said, I think that the best place for each of us to work is that place which allows us to maximize our talents to achieve success.

I think that there is a lot to be said about the things organizations do to be a best place to work for a handful of employees that work in those 100 best places. However, there is much to be said for the tens and tens of millions of us who can also work in a super fine place! Each of us can make our place of employment special by focusing in a few areas that build a mighty fine place to work. We can do it ourselves.

Here is a list of actions we can take to make our place something special:

• Focus on autonomy - yours and your colleagues. People who feel a sense of unencumbered movement are more motivated. Dan Pink in his book Drive has identified "autonomy" as one of three 21st century motivators of impact. The other two are "purpose" and "mastery" which connect well with "autonomy".
• Offer help from your best skill box. Everyone could use an extra pair of hands from time to time in an area where their expertise is not as well developed as yours is. When you help others, then in the future you are sure to be offered help when you need it. Everyone grows when this happens.
• Sing "Happy" out loud (but quietly). This will help people feel a greater sense of positive and upbeat behavior options. It is certainly more energizing around my place of work when colleagues are engaged with smiles, not frowns. I did promise, though, to take singing lessons!
• Turn your damn cell phone off. I certainly have found that there are times during a 24-hour day that it can take a rest. You owe it to yourself and to your mighty fine organization to give each person your complete attention when meeting and interacting.
• Take charge of yourself. That's right; hold yourself accountable for getting things done in a way that makes everyone proud to know you. I'm not sure if I really need to be nudged by other people (supervisor or colleague) so much. I know what must be done, and I do it.

I'm sure that you've noticed that all five of these actions are "other oriented". None of them fit into the "all about me" category of making a mighty fine workplace. That is because only you can make it a terrific work environment for yourself and others. You can certainly hang around your electronic tools for hours on end and get a great deal accomplished. Or you can decide that getting more done with a special approach in the workplace, either live or electronically, can be mighty fine!