6 steps to fast tracking your culture building efforts
I once sat with a small group of business owners who wanted to talk about culture. For each of them, culture ranks as one of their key human resource worries – how to shift their culture in a meaningful way, or maintain a culture they see as critical to success. One of the advantages – and responsibilities – of being a business owner is that you have the final say on the culture in your organization.
Too often we talk about building culture as though it were a knob you turn. In fact, culture is an output – the observable manifestation of a myriad of factors that interact and coalesce to create a unique imprint. Inputs that shape culture include strategy, structure, decision-making rules, rewards, customers, values, who you hire, policies, mission, and so on. You can see culture in how your lobby is decorated, and you can feel it in how employees treat each other. It usually takes outsiders only a few words to describe the essence of your culture.
I do not understand the mystique that surrounds culture change. To me, tackling culture requires the same approach you apply to any other business problem: What is your goal? Where are you now? What is your plan to close the gap?
You begin with a vision for your culture, then you take a hard look at what your culture is today. If there is a gap, you systematically look at the key inputs that shape and influence culture and assess which of these you need to address to get a different output.