Every business has a business culture: what is yours?

Business culture is not optional. 

Like gravity or photosynthesis, whether or not you acknowledge it, it is there. 

The question is never: do we have a company culture; the question is always: do we have a good company culture or a damaging company culture?

And if it’s going to happen anyway, you may as well make it a force for good. 

What is culture

“Culture”. It sounds so ethereal, so abstract. 

No, wait, isn’t company culture when a business offers ping pong tables and free beer and relaxation pods? 

No, and no. And especially not in remote working. 

Culture is about relationships. It is about interactions. 

Culture is the way all your team members engage with each other, and engage with their work. 

All those words you hear about a good work environment: collaboration, productivity, leadership, performance; they all come down to company culture. 

Culture is about business success

When your company culture is a good one, you will notice something magical happen: your employees will be more interested in getting the job done well than they are in pleasing you. 

And this is a good thing. 

It means they will work hard, and they will work smart, and they will be proud of the results. All of which will make you happy. Because it will make the business successful. 

If your employees are more concerned with reading your moods, responding to your whims, and being the first to bring you your morning coffee, nobody is focused on business success.

Use your culture

There is a company culture present and happening, whether you have planned it or not. If you try to impose a culture that is not natural to you or your working methods, not only will it not stick but it will even backfire: you will come across as unreliable. 

You can control your culture, and you can shape it, but you can’t fake it. 

Figure out what your company culture is, and use it as a strength. 

---