Julie Bacon : : Consulting, Programs, Campaigns, Marketing Communication

Most leaders don’t believe culture is the cornerstone for good strategy. Big Mistake.  No matter what your organization does for a living, the people are at the heart of its success and ignoring the culture is really the same as ignoring the execution engine.

Culture is the secret ingredient to a company’s success.

And for those of you who think culture is that soft stuff that gets employees to want to have drinks together, you’re missing the point. A company’s culture is the sum of the actions and behaviors of the employees when you’re not watching. How do they act when the leadership team is at an off-site? Are you sure the same work is getting done with the same level of excellence? And cultures develop whether you consciously create them or not. The trick is developing self-awareness in yourself and in your company – knowing what you have, what you need to have and addressing the gap in between.

Your company’s success will be directly proportional to the foundation you’ve built.

Want proof? Study a few of the start-up failures and decide if their foundations were sturdy and scalable enough to support their rapid growth. Why do so many fail this test? Because a company’s foundation is a function of two things: culture and infrastructure. Infrastructure in terms of not just the wiring, but the processes, tools, systems and business habits consistently applied and used throughout the company. And culture in terms of confident, empowered, collaborative and decisive employees with a demonstrative sense of ownership.

You want a big house? Invest in the foundation.

Your employees are your most expensive and leverage-able asset. How are you maximizing the output of these resources? Because that’s fine if you say you’re not the warm-fuzzy leader, but you are the bottom-line type. Cool. Then you’ve maximized the back-office, your delivery and you’re kicking your front office in the right direction, but how are you getting the most out of all your assets? Creating a healthy, performance-based culture will improve your bottom-line. I swear. Your talent quotient will increase because A players hire A+ players – they want better for their company and are far from threatened by anyone with a better resume. Your employees will become more innovative and push others to do the same, taking on challenges without being asked, providing client satisfaction always. And the bonus, low performers will often self-deselect, knowing they can’t cut it.

Creating a confident culture will drive your company’s success.

When employees are confident, there is genuine collaboration because no one is threatened and all activities are for the good of the company – empowerment, decisiveness, action and urgency are all heightened. Each employee will take apposition of total-ownership and responsibility and clients will be the winners. In this environment, true diversity – diversity of ideas – is not just desired but demanded. You’ll stretch the best, recognize, celebrate success and strengthen you company’s backbone. Create an environment where everyone’s skills can be fully realized and where teaching and learning occurs organically. Instill a sense of belief, of faith. Your employees must “drink the Kool-Aid” or you’ll need to replace them – it’s that important. Further, you need a sub-set of employees who not only “drink the Kool-Aid” but who know how to make it.