What Works: Company culture and how you create it
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 09/22/2014 - 10:08am
This year, there has been a lot of noise about how Burning Man has changed and how it’s not the same. The latest MOOP (Matter Out Of Place) map released last week showed more traces left behind than ever. The reactions to the map are varied. The worst reaction I’ve heard, however, is “I’m done.” The people who believe in the culture are the ones who can save it. If the believers leave, a shift will take place for sure. Perhaps the suggestions below will help veteran Burners instill the culture in every “virgin” on the Playa.
This applies in office and company environments as well. To create a sustainable culture, no matter what the company’s stance, several things need to happen. And (surprise) it’s not all up to leadership.
1) Be clear on what the culture is. The coolest company culture I have had the pleasure of being around is Mahalo.com — a website where you can “learn anything.” Believing their mission from the inside out, they serve oatmeal and fixings to their employees every morning. Their work environment is casual. Jeans are the norm. The workspace is also an open floor.
Executives have offices along the perimeter, for privacy, but everyone else has an open work space so they can collaborate. Clarity of culture isn’t just in a piece of paper you can new hires. It’s in how the company work space is set up, the support provided to the team, and total buy in to the company message.
2) Get buy in from the beginning. Probably the most personally offensive thing I ever heard an HR manager say to me is “we are slow to hire, quick to fire.” Today, I see that statement was a test for a very specific kind of culture; a very results-driven, take no guff, hard-charging one that would have been a very bad fit for me.
They went on to say that the accomplishment of the whole was recognized, not individual achievement. In other words, if you are someone who needs an atta-girl, you won’t like it here. I didn’t pursue the job. When you are hiring, how can you convey your culture? Can you build some tests into your interview process to help you find people who are more personally inclined to fit? In the case of Burning Man, everyone who gets a ticket gets one. There’s no controlling that. But there is an opportunity for cultural education.
3) It’s not a mantra. It’s a way of life. If your culture is cooperative, encourage cooperation. Report out on it and reward for it. If your culture is to be like family, provide flexibility to act like one. Encourage employees to show other employees what your culture is all about. Live the culture from the top down and the bottom up. Believe me; the rank and file can smell bull a mile away.
Need help defining or expressing your company culture? Want to brag a little about your company culture and how cool it is to work where you do? Desperately trying to save a culture going down the tubes? Talk to me. The floor is yours, Carson City.
ABOUT DIANE HANSEN
Diane Hansen is the Chief Inspiration Officer of What Works Coaching, a coaching firm that has helped people worldwide with their businesses, careers, mindsets, and profit margins. She brings to Carson City more than 17 years of experience with a wide array of clients, ranging from top corporations, motivated entrepreneurs and individuals hungry for a fresh start. Her column appears every Monday, and sometimes Tuesday, on Carson Now.
