Defining Your Culture

Defining a culture is, in my opinion, more important than your mission statement, your vision, or your values - and here's why.

Your culture is what allows your mission, your vision, and your values to live and breathe, and it actually serves to create the overall experience in your organization.

Defining a strong culture establishes cohesiveness within a company.  It also creates a great "team environment" because everyone knows that they aren't “in it alone”; and they are proud to be a part of something bigger than themselves that they can truly believe in.

When someone visits your organization - whether you are a start-up, small business, non-profit or corporation - they should undoubtedly know how you'd define your culture without you having to say a single word based off of their experience. In the case that someone does ask you, “How do you define your culture?”, I want you to respond with irrefutable confidence as you define your culture in a clear and concise manner. 

When you define your culture, the core values that you set for your company serve as a strong foundation for you to build your company on that can withstand growth, setbacks, and most importantly; the test of time. These clear-cut values will provide your colleagues and those you lead with the confidence, clarity, and certainty they need to proudly promote the beliefs of the company in every internal and external interaction they have. 

Defining your culture won't happen overnight. However, I want to provide you with the framework you need to develop a winning company culture that you take pride in so that it can be reflected in anything and everything that you and your team pursues.

So, how do you define your culture?

If you have any hesitancy at all, I want to provide you with the framework you need to develop a winning company culture that you take pride in so that it can be reflected in anything you and your team pursues. Defining your culture won't happen overnight. There will be many things you need to consider, such as: Who are you? What do you stand for? What are your values? What truly matters to you? This process is intense, but it is a tremendously rewarding process that will help impact every decision you make because you will have a clear definition of exactly what your company culture is and what it stands for.

And if you think that defining your culture is something that will happen on its own, I am OVERJOYED to tell you that it won't. If you try to let it develop on its own - you are giving up the opportunity to create a company whose values you believe in whole-heartedly. After pouring blood, sweat, tears, and sleeplessness nights in your company, not caring enough to invest in yourself, your company, and those you lead is pure blasphemy. (Unless you want to kiss profitability and success goodbye, but if you're still reading, you have much more sense than that).

In this series, we're going to talk about defining a culture inside of an organization. What does that mean? How do you get started? Then, once you have your culture clearly defined, then how do you make it an integral part of the everyday experience within your place of business? I will tell you when culture is built correctly, it will:

• Sustain your organization's future growth
• Help you expand your market share
• Help you retain your most important team members
• Tell your customers that you are the type of the organization that they'd love to do business with

The immense impact that a strong company culture can have on your entire business is even backed up with scientific evidence. According to an article published by Forbes: "A 2015 study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior revealed a direct correlation between a positive company culture and profits. It also suggested that the reverse was not true and in fact, companies with high profitability but a less positive culture frequently experienced declines in profitability over time. Culture provides people with a sense of belonging and purpose, both of which are critical to their success. Also, according to Gallup, highly engaged business units result in 21% greater profitability, realize 41% reduction in absenteeism and are 17% more productive."

So, now that you know just how crucial a company culture is to any business, are you ready get started on defining and creating what your company culture is going to be?