Judy Kessel,
StoneArch Creative:
612.379.4678
jkessel
stonearchcreative.com
Why a single ‘C’
word trumps all
those ‘P’ words
WHEN ORGANIZATIONS think of success, they often think of the “P” words to define what it takes to achieve their goals: product, processes, people and most often profit.
All of these are important to the growth and viability of a successful organization. However, in our agency it’s a “C” word that supports our success and our competitive edge: culture.
What is culture?
Culture is a difficult element to define and difficult to duplicate. Ask anyone who has worked for a company that did not have a good culture. Sometimes employees don’t even realize that the culture is dysfunctional until they eventually work at a place where the culture is positive.
Every organization has its own unique culture, yet most organizations don’t consciously try to create a culture, it usually just happens. Often it is a reflection of the leaders or founders of the organization, but culture is everybody’s business.
At our organization, the agency partners believe culture is as important, if not more important, than any other element of running the business. Building a great corporate culture is an art. It must live and breathe into every aspect of the environment, the work and the people.
Great culture reflects the values of the organization and complements the mission. Many companies think the mission is their culture, but culture is not a mission. Culture embodies the mission. It is everyone’s responsibility to grow and cultivate the culture, especially one that they are proud of. If you place the right attention and focus, it will bloom into something wonderful.
Why culture matters
As a creative shop, we must make sure that our culture provides an opportunity for people to be creative. The culture needs to be fun and promote great work and great working relationships. Employees need to feel free to share ideas, try new things and to do this they need to feel a great deal of trust in each other and the organization. That is the job of the culture.
Great culture helps to assure better interpersonal relationships, work friendships and helps to build the foundation for the creative process. When employees like and trust each other, they like and trust clients and it builds strong client relationships.
Great culture helps to attract and retain employees and clients. Clients respond positively to a company’s good culture. One example comes to mind. We were pitching a new client and we were up against two other agencies. When we won the campaign, the client said to us, “We could tell in the pitch that the people on your team actually like each other.”
There are several techniques
to cultivating a great culture.
Define your values and what is important to you. Every organization should develop a set of values, preferably written and shared with the entire company. It helps to define who you are, who you want to be and how you want to get there.
These values must be authentic to the leaders and you must refer to them regularly to make sure that they still fit and that you can live by them. These values must fit with who you are.
Determine what kind of culture you want to nurture. There are organizations where profit and shareholder value drives the culture. Some organizations create a culture of innovation. You must determine what is important to your company and put your stake in the ground. You can’t build it if you can’t see it.
Hire the right people. I always say we want to hire kindred spirits. It is not that we want cookie-cutter people or all the same, but we must be able to align the staff. If you hire people with the right stuff and the right attitude, they will support your cultural goals.
Communicate, communicate, communicate. Do not underestimate the power of information in building a culture. It helps to make sure that everyone feels part of the organization and its goals. They will be more apt to share and contribute if they feel a part of present and future of the company.
Allow mistakes
Teach skills that support the culture. A supportive culture allows people to make mistakes and learn from them. Learning should be woven into the way you do things. It helps people to grow and develop new skills that you will need in the future. It helps you take good people,with good attitudes and help them to fit into a more effective place in the organization.
We once had a bright employee with a great attitude but the job wehired her for just did not quite fit. Rather than let her go, we saw the potential to teach her a new skill in another department and she isa star in that role. Caution: be careful that you don’t make excusesfor people who do not fit the culture and keep them too long.
Focus on common goals. When people in an organization have common goalsand direction, they are aligned, inspired and stimulated to succeed.This alignment allows for everyone to move in the same direction andkeeps the focus on what you want to achieve.
In entrepreneurial organizations, it is easy to get excited aboutpotential and the work out there. I have found that crisp focus is asecret weapon that many agencies forget about. It is often difficult toturn down work, but the wrong client/work can sabotage the right work.If the whole organization is focused, they can support each other indecisions.
Culture takes work
Be passionate about the culture. Since we started the agency in 1984,my business partner and I have had culture as a key business strategy.We created the culture on purpose and worked very hard (and still do)to make sure that it is as important as our other business strategies.
With every new hire, we evaluate how the applicant will fit into theculture. With every new client, we determine if they are a good fit forour business and our culture.
Being nice is one of the basic rules in our culture and if a client isnot nice, they may not fit, even if the budget is large and the workpotential is great.
