Company culture is having a moment. And why not? The culture of an organization can be the key to its sustained success (see: shiny, happy Zappos employees ringing up more than $1 billion in sales) or degradation at the hands of disgruntled employees (see Greg Smith's much-shared op-ed in The New York Times describing the erosion of Goldman Sach's corporate to something “toxic and destructive”).
More than a business buzzword, culture is a cornerstone, according to Shawn Parr. But that hasn't stopped it from being misunderstood and discounted as the woo-woo component of a company that doesn't have much of an impact on its balance sheet. However, Parr argues, engaged employees in a performance-oriented culture give businesses a better chance at financial growth and innovation. Culture is a place where strategy is born.
A heated debate took place among Fast Company expert bloggers and our community of readers on whether “culture eats strategy for lunch.” The original quote "wasn’t meant to take sides so much as it was to highlight that the amount of time business executives pay to each is way out of proportion based on the contribution of each to an organization's success," wrote Brent Daily at Roundpegg.com.
Business leaders at SXSW last week clamored to take a stab at articulating which is more important. Their answers, while different, suggested that organizational culture was a critical component in enabling the successful execution of strategy.
Here's Edward Saatchi, cofounder of NationalField, on how their culture of accountability made it possible to carry out the startup's strategy to connect on-the-ground operatives during Obama's 2008 campaign.
Ultimately, writes Bob Frisch, managing partner of The Strategic Offsites Group, you don't have to choose. “It's like asking whether you would rather back a great poker player with weak cards or an average player with great cards. You’re more likely to win when you have both: a great player and great cards. The same goes for culture and strategy. You don’t have to choose. Culture doesn’t eat strategy, and the company that lets culture do so is likely to starve.”
With that in mind, we've rounded up the experts to weigh in on how to build a great culture, how to nurture it, how to use it to foster innovation, and how to change it when things aren't working.
Bake It In
For Boy CEO Mark Zuckerberg, hacking goes way beyond the allegations that he coded his way into the Harvard Crimson and ConnectU--it's an integral part of him and the company he started in his dorm room. For Zuck, the hacker culture is about using shared effort and knowledge to make something bigger, better, and faster than an individual can do alone. His "hackathons" at Facebook are legendary and help foster innovation in all manner of projects from building better data centers to crowdsourcing urban planning for its surrounding neighborhood. At Facebook's new headquarters, the Hacker culture reigns supreme--the writing is literally on the wall.
Encourage Buy-in
Dennis Crowley, cofounder and CEO of Foursquare, says that when the staff grew from two to 10 people, he started by hiring friends he knew could work together. That fostered an initial spirit of teamwork and open sharing that scaled along with Foursquare's growth.
Pay Nothing
Founder of ClearGears Arshad Chowdhury is convinced that culture isn't costly. It can even save money. Start by getting rid of expensive firewalls that block Facebook and YouTube. Access to social media tools can help employees research and network faster. Also, Chowdhury says, it’s not true that the longer you work, the more work you will get done. According to a 2010 study, flexible work hours can lead to increased retention and productivity. If you must have staff on site, let 'em sleep. A NASA study indicates that a nap of just 26 minutes can boost productivity by 34%.
Throw Yourself Off a Cliff
To encourage innovation, Reid Hoffman, cofounder of LinkedIn, believes you need to hire creative truth seekers who can assemble a plane on the way down from that cliff leap.
Empower and Support
It's not just enough to hire great people, you have to empower them--especially junior staff.
Recognize Achievement
A culture is only as good as the environment that supports it. People work for more than just a paycheck, they want their achievements to be recognized by the leaders and peers. Erin Newkirk, founder of RedStamp, says a little thank-you can go a long way. And it doesn't have to cost a thing.
Eliminate Poison at the Source
If someone or something isn't working, it's time for a change. To shift culture in a better direction, Jim Fowler, CEO of Jigsaw, says start with eliminating those who are poisoning the well.
[Image: Flickr user Simon Li] via fastcompany.com
Jim Woods is president and founder of InnoThink Group. A global management consulting firms specialized solely in helping organizations of all sizes in all industries catalyzing top line growth through strategic innovation and hypercompetition. Jim has over 25 years consulting experience in working with small, mid size and Fortune 1000 companies. He is a former U.S. Navy Seabee and grandfather of five. Jim is board president of a charter school located in Colorado Springs whose sole purpose is to prepare otherwise disadvantaged students more competitively for college. To arrange for Jim to speak at your next event or devise an effective hypercompetition strategy email or call us at 719-649-4118 for availability. Subscribe to our innovation and hypercompetition newsletter.
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