𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵?

Your culture, formed by values and reinforced by strong leadership, impacts the business plan, customer acquisition, and financial model.

A fixed culture also informs and simplifies decisions by helping to narrow your options and then to draw support for tough decisions.

A healthy culture will keep employees engaged and productive, carrying over into their client interactions and public advocacy.

“𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧.” — David Cummings

You may be tempted to build a culture based on what you think other people want. Instead, be authentic to yourself and your dream.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Reflect on your vision, mission, and values both early and regularly. These may evolve over time but should not fundamentally change.

From there, consider these steps:

· Insert your values into recruitment, evaluations, promotions, client acquisition, and branding. Revisit culture during tough decisions.

· Determine how employees will be treated. Culture should define meaning despite turbulent growth and harsh change.

· Identify which traits define your company and are non-negotiable. Some may include autonomy, ownership, influence, and meritocracy.

𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Once in place, company culture still needs nurturing.

· Engage Employees. For instance, if you want to motivate learning, offer trainings, network groups, and weekly blocks without meetings.

· Be Consistent. Ensure your actions, policies, and content always are aligned with your culture.

· Review Regularly. At least annually, determine if your culture is adhering to the original intention through meetings and surveys.

𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆

You need to find your own path, but I recommend you consider the value of autonomy and accountability.

Autonomy is a key driver of human motivation, performance, and fulfillment. It combines flexibility with responsibility.

Accountability is respecting others' dedication by showing results.

Pair autonomy with accountability to encourage personal development and business growth.

Some authoritarian founders want to be inflexible while caring founders don’t want to enforce results. My position is to care about people AND respect their work by holding everyone responsible.

Balance employees’ independence (as much as they can handle) with high expectations (as high as you can go).

A company can grow wildly without a great culture but will face unnecessary tension as a fallout during periods of scale.

A strong culture guides company decisions and employee choices.