Unfortunately, that is not true of the corporate culture. It is a much more slippery thing to get our arms around.
If we liken the systems, people and money to the bones and muscles of a body, culture is the heart that sends the blood to all the parts and empowers them to function the way we had hoped. Culture energizes and focuses the people to work the systems and bring in the money and achieve the company goals.
Culture is about implementation. We can be flush with cash, have the greatest people and most efficient systems, but if our culture is detrimental, we’ll be continually frustrated in putting them into action.
The Inc. Encyclopedia defines it like this:
Corporate culture refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature. Corporate culture is rooted in an organization's goals, strategies, structure, and approaches to labor, customers, investors, and the greater community. As such, it is an essential component in any business's ultimate
success or failure.
Like a strong heart and clear blood vessels are essential to good health, so a positive corporate culture is essential to business success. Just like maintaining a healthy heart is a process, not an event, so, too creating and nurturing a positive business culture is a never-ending project.
Three Keys to a Positive Corporate Culture:
1. Accept the responsibility to craft the culture.
As a principal or key executive, the responsibility to craft and maintain a positive culture is one of your key jobs. In mediocre companies the culture often arises and takes shape in reaction to crises.
As one crisis after another is handled, the attitudes and behaviors that resolved the crises get repeated until they become the unspoken rules of the company. Eventually, the culture is solidified. No one intentionally created it. It arose out of urgent tactics instead of thoughtful strategy.
In successful companies, however, the culture proceeds from the top down, and is intentionally crafted and nurtured by the principals. That’s your job.
2. Begin by articulating the culture you want.
That’s why those foundational documents – Vision, mission and values statements – are so important. They put into print, for everyone to see, the deepest and dearest motivations of the company.
Without a written document to set the stage, its difficult for people – your employees, stakeholders and customers – to guess what is most important to your organization.
In addition to the three foundational documents, you may want to describe, in writing, the details of the corporate culture you desire in your organization.
3. Proactively manage the culture.
Think rewards and punishments. Since culture shapes and stimulates human behavior, seek opportunities to identify when someone acted in sync with the corporate culture. If, for example, ‘exceptional customer service” is part of your culture, then look for people who delivered it. Reward that person with recognition, if not something more...[Read More]
