A company’s culture is often a misunderstood concept. People tend to over think culture and define it in terms of grandious and unrealistic statements. Let’s keep it simple. A group’s culture is defined by how individuals ACT, how they behave and how they treat each other day by day. Its what you DO that counts.

Someone said to me very early in my career, “If you want to change the culture, change the people!”. At the time, I thought this was a rather cynical view of the world, however many years and countless examples have proven the validity of this. Its all about the collection of people.

Start-ups have a unique opportunity to set the agenda early and get the right people on board that align to your culture. The power of having a group of people with the same values working towards a common goal is well documented. These groups can achieve great things - think The Beatles, Greenpeace, the Australian cricket team, NASA or the civil rights movement.
Now with this understanding, we’re in a position to act.

Step 1 – Define your culture
Spend some time with your team and define what you stand for. Key questions include:

Brainstorming these questions will give you a picture of who you are as a collective. Focus on what is real and now, not what you could be. Aspirational cultures sound fantastic, but as they don’t have any basis in reality, they’re pretty meaningless.

Step 2 – Reinforce your Culture

There are two ways to do this:

Hire the right people : Attracting and selecting staff that are aligned is the easiest way to build and sustain your culture. Some questions to ask at interview are- What aspects of the work environment do you find the most motivating, most frustrating? What do you look for in colleagues? Describe a manager who has got the most out of you? Describe a manager who did not meet your expectations?
Also ask for specific, behavioural examples that look at key areas that define your culture. Psychometric assessment is also a proven method for assessing fit to your environment.

Manage people transparently : If someone acts against the culture and values, you need to provide immediate, clear and transparent feedback. Rather than focus on the negative, my suggestion is to focus on the expectations of everyone (not just the individual) and allow them to understand how their behavior may have differed from this.
Confirming this understanding and reinforcing the individual as a valued team member will give you the best chance of promoting re-alignment. Any further breaches however will need to be escalated quickly. Examples of poor behavior have cancerous impact on the team.

Step 3- Let your Culture evolve

Over the long run, your Culture will evolve as your business evolves and becomes larger. This is a natural process. Many organisations suffer by reminiscing about ‘the good ol’ days’ and failing to adapt, particularly small businesses becoming medium sized enterprises. Take the opportunity and pivotal stages in your development to re-define your culture. You can use assessments and surveys to understand your culture and the employment experience of staff, work with someone who has a track record in culture and assessing behavior to get the most out of this activity.
Overall, keep it simple and enjoy the benefits of having a strong and sustainable culture.



Christopher Paterson