Defining an Unbeatable Culture
What is corporate culture?
By definition, Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. (Source: Investopedia)
Or as also defined by Deal and Kennedy it is “the way we do things around here”.
Culture is a key component in business and has an impact on the strategic direction of the business. It influences management, decisions, and all business functions from accounting to production.
How to create an unbeatable culture
A positive culture is implied, not expressly defined. It is something that evolves over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires. But, to get started, here are the 7 Pillars from the book: “The 7 Pillars of an Unbeatable Company & Culture: A Foundation of Legacy Leadership” you should be focusing on:
Pillar 1: Commit To Hiring For Attitude. Period!
Hiring for attitude can reduce your mis-hires and turnover rate tremendously. Human Resources should focus on attitude.
When a bad fit or attitude deficiency is identified, immediate action should be made without delay.
Pillar 2: Undertake Organizational Evangelism
Winning the hearts of the team, instilling in them a sense of belonging to a work family, and delivering a feeling they are part of a crusade for something much greater than just a job.
Pillar 3: Leading with LUV
As the leader, you should be viewed as developing your team effectively – having to influence the thinking, behavior, or development in their personal or professional life.
Pillar 4: Training, Training, Training
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough, so they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson
Training is important for the development of the individual and their skills, it reinforces the message that you care enough to invest in your employees.
Pillar 5: Use Humor & Humility
As a leader, you should be aware that employees automatically apprehend engagement with you.
Help your team feel it’s OK to make fun of the boss, even the CEO, in a respectful manner. We tease our friends and family from time to time; so it should be with your work family.
Use your time in the field interacting with them to display your humor and humility and do it regularly. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much you’ll enjoy it. Setting pride aside clears a wide path for humility and humor to do the bonding.
Pillar 6: Release Control For Decisions
To foster a culture that has the agility, energy, and total motivation factor that will allow your company to navigate turbulent waters, decisions have to come NOT JUST through you.
Make it a priority to release and delegate control. Give your employees the permission to make decisions and fail, and to be accountable. Give them credit when credit is due. This will uplift and develop the next generation of leaders.
Pillar 7: Exercise The Power of Praise
“Praise is powerful in any organization. People value appreciation over money.”
Praise should be given not just for achieving a goal or hitting some metric–it should also occur as ongoing gratitude for being part of the team.
Transforming your company culture, and integrating them along with a profit-sharing component, will surely make your company unbeatable in the face of competitive headwinds or crises.