What is "Culture" anyway?

When you think of "company culture," what comes to mind?

‍

Maybe you think of a company's mission, vision, and values.

‍

Maybe you cringe as memories of a past (or current) workplace come to mind.

‍

Maybe you know you know what it means, but can't quite put it into words.

‍

Me? I think about the time I was at Costco and not one, but two employees made sure I had my second bag of buy-one-get-one-free bagels.

‍

I think about touring Marriott’s headquarters and thinking, If I ever go back to work for someone else, I hope it’s here.

‍

I think about the companies I feel even more loyal to now that they are publicly staying committed to their DEI values and initiatives even though there's so much pressure to discard them.

‍

And I wonder: How do we build cultures where people are so genuinely glad to be there that they go out of their way to create an excellent experience for others?

‍

It all starts with the question of, "What is culture, really? And what do we want ours to be?"

‍

To me, culture is the experience of being here:

‍

>> How do people feel as they move through their workday?

‍

>> What do people say about their work to friends over dinner?

‍

>> What does success look like here and who really has access to it?

‍

Every organization has a culture.

‍

Some are built on and with purpose, many are built by default.

‍

One of those relies heavily on luck. (You can probably guess which one.)

‍

The other takes real effort. But it’s effort that’s absolutely worth it.

‍

Culture starts with words - language is how we build shared understanding and expectations. Those words end up in things like: mission, vision, and values statements, processes and procedures, org charts and benefits packages.

‍

But culture only comes to life through action

‍

🧐 How do people show up with and for each other and with customers each day?

‍

🧐 How do leaders engage with their teams?

‍

🧐 What behaviors get rewarded? And what behaviors get corrected (and how)?

‍

Getting clear on those answers and the actions that demonstrate them is a foundational piece of creating culture.

‍

Marriott doesn’t just say, “We put people first.”

‍

They designed a headquarters that feels like they want their team to have a great experience.

‍

They don’t put, “We value excellence.” on the walls.

‍

They literally put recognition of excellence on the walls.

‍

And Costco? I would love to know what's going on behind the scenes, because it’s working - I’m still thinking about those bagels, and what they represented to my culture-obsessed brain, a year later.

‍