Vicki Anderson

According to Curt Coffman, Culture Eats Strategy For Lunch, you have to truly understand your culture in order to leverage it to your best interests. Identify the strongest parts of your culture and what sustains it. What is it about your culture that will never change? In other words, what is your organization’s DNA?

Every organization can have the same things: buildings and equipment, technology, and financing. It’s what your people do with these things that makes the difference between you and your competitor. By identifying and capitalizing on your cultural specialties you can position your organization to take the lead.

Coffman says you can’t be hit and miss about paying attention to your culture. It has to be an ongoing process because it will prove to benefit your bottom line.

I remember a place I worked once that had a great culture of work hard, play hard. It had an entrepreneurial spirit and you were encouraged to think outside the lines. The president was very personable and kept us informed of issues going on with the company. I thought I had finally found a place to stay forever. Unfortunately, the company was purchased and a new president was brought in who was more conservative. Several of the management team left also. The underlying culture was frowned on and fear took its place. Pretty soon there was no more fun and gossiping replaced it.

I have also known other organizations where new leaders came in and the culture was so strong that the leader was not able to make any changes. The status quo, good or bad, was maintained.

In either case, it is important to understand what you are working with. You can’t leverage your culture if you don’t understand it. Once you do, you have opportunities if you choose to take them.

An organizational culture is very important because it determines how you will do business, how you will treat your customers, and how you will treat your employees. This is a three-legged stool built with respect. The Key Principles for Toyota include Respect for Others. This means everyone.

Your employees will only treat their customers as well as they are treated. If someone does not feel respected, they are not likely to respect others. It will be easier to be judgmental and arbitrary toward others. For all the bad treatment we receive at the hands of others, it boils down to a lack of respect. If you respected the other person, you would not use a sarcastic tone of voice to them. You would not get mad at the slightest variance from your expectations. You would want to be helpful because you respect that their intentions are good.

How hard it is for employees today to feel that their management respects them when they are considered so disposable. So many employees feel they have no choice but to shut up and do as asked–even if they disagree or know it is wrong. How hard it is for managers today to feel that their employees respect them when they have to monitor their every movement for fear they will be not working or not doing what they are supposed to do without prodding.

How poorly served are customers today who have to deal with vendors who don’t seem to care about serving them. It is easy to get mad at the apathy or disrespect shown when seeking help. How does this translate into your business’s bottom line? Organizations that encourage respect bring repeat business from their customers, who tell more customers.

Respect cannot be legislated. You cannot command that someone respect you. You have to earn it and I think you have to give it in order to get it. If you want a respectful environment for your employees and customers, it is important to stop allowing disrespectful behavior. As leaders, set the tone by the way you treat others. Talk about the importance of the show of respect toward one another. Everyone can give you examples of what disrespect looks like, but there may be varying answers to what respect looks like. Start the dialog today and get people involved in setting the standards at your organization. It can start with you.