Almost everyone has been adversely affected by economic challenges over the past decade. But as the economy improves, people have more choices of where to work, who to give money to and where to buy things. And a company's culture can affect all of those decisions.
If you want a company that attracts and retains both loyal employees and customers, creating a unique culture must be a priority.
In a Nutshell
Having a unique culture is the most important factor in business. When done right, it will become part of a business's DNA and will attract employees and customers who ultimately help the company to grow. One challenge for companies is articulating what the culture is and identifying how to build that culture. Bear in mind, every company already has a culture. It just may not be the culture you want. If that's where you are in your business, then the place to start is in transforming the existing culture.
Creating Your Own Unique Culture
Step 1: Vision
Begin by creating a compelling vision. Within all companies, workers need to know What they are doing or delivering. Once they understand that, all thoughts, decisions and actions can be aligned with it. This will help employees discern the best way to do things and identify what needs to evolve over time. A clear vision can serve as a guiding light toward cultural improvement.
With the right vision, management doesn't need to tell the employees what to do. Once the vision is communicated well, they will already know what needs to be done. That minimizes management and maximizes employee autonomy. The vision needs to clearly define what the business does (and then inherently identifies what the business doesn't do) and shouldn't limit what the business may become in the future.
Keep the vision statement brief, memorable and repeatable. Longwinded vision statements won't guide thoughts, decisions or actions of the employees when they can't even remember or repeat it.
Dump the mission statements, as they typically define how, not what, things are done. No good employer needs to define the "how" if the employees fully understand what is being done.
Step 2: Purpose
Everyone needs a purpose and this is just as true in business. Your purpose is the why you are doing what you are doing. If your company's purpose is only about making money, employees won't stand behind it for long. If the purpose is compelling enough and gives them a great reason to work at your company, it will attract passionate employees that want to fulfill your company's Purpose.
If you create a purpose that will be, or can be, a benefit to humankind, not just benefiting your company, you will not only attract employees, but retain them as well, which will produce the same effect with your customers.
Make sure you also make your purpose short, memorable and repeatable otherwise it won't be remembered or repeated and won't give a concise reason for employees to work with your company or a reason to stay.
Step 3: Business Model
Take a good look at your business model. Is it in alignment with the wants, needs and demands of the customer? Is it aligned with all the possibilities and opportunities that the Information Age has to offer?
For most companies, business models are stuck in the past. The lifespan of an Standard & Poor firm a generation ago was 50 years. Today, the lifespan of an S&P company is 25 years and shrinking. Companies are dying at an unprecedented rate, and often it relates to a business model that hasn't kept up with the time.
Because so much information is available at our finger tips people make their own choices and decisions of who to work with and whom they buy from. Customers no longer want to be "sold" to. And they don't want binding contracts or poor return policies.
The middle person is going away in every area of business. Many don't use stockbrokers or travel agents anymore. If your company is deeply entrenched in hard upselling, long contracts, or doesn't treat customers like they matter, you may want to change it up a bit to align with the wants, needs and demands of today's customers.
Step 4: Unique Wow Factors
Having or creating a wow factors for your company may be the single most important thing in business today. Why should anyone want to work or buy from your company? What is unique or special about what you do. Does what you sell or deliver, stand out from the rest? Consider not only what you sell but how you sell it. Creating a wow factor could set you apart and make you unique among customers. Choose from any number of things like: quality, value, price, service, delivery, the list goes on. Just be different! If everyone is building fences, dig a tunnel.
Just remember what you do must be tangible. It's what the customers receive and not what you say you are. If you say you have the lowest prices, but that's not what the customer receives, it's not unique or wow. You'll know soon enough, because customers will vote on your special advantage with their pocketbooks.
Step 5: Values
Values are the last of the five important structures to creating a unique corporate culture. Values let the outside world know what you are all about. Values are basically what everyone values within organization.
To determine your values, get everyone's input. Your workforce needs to have buy in as it will be living by those values. Take a good look around and see what the current values are. If they are not what are desired for the future, create values that will guide the people and the company towards success.
For example, if your company currently doesn't communicate promptly, you wouldn't want to state your value as communicate when convenient as that won't allow your company to reach its potential in the future. Instead create a value like "timely communication to attract those for whom timely communication is a value. That value will over time become self-managing.
Finally make sure values are clearly stated to help you business perform consistently. Values shouldn't have to be explained or open to interpretation.
You can have any number of values, it's up to you, but keep in mind that values will direct the way you do things in the future, so choose wisely. And take time to use the structures above fit within your business's unique wants, needs and demands. Over time, your culture will become part of your DNA.
Dr. David Doc Vik is the founder and CEO of The Culture King and was the Culture Coach at Zappos.com from 2005-2010, where he helped drive their company culture. He is the author of The Culture Secret: How to Empower People and Companies No Matter What You Sell. For more information, visit www.TheCultureKing.com.
Current Issue - May 2024