When Culture is Right, Everything Else Falls into Place

These words couldn’t ring more true. When you’re in the midst of an organization that cares about its own, those fundamentals trickle down to customer service and other areas where it really counts.

Creating a great culture

In the book Delivering Happiness, author Tony Hsieh talks discusses his company, Zappos,and how their culture drives the brand. “At Zappos, our belief is that if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff – like great customer service, or building a great long-term brand, or passionate employees and customers – will happen naturally on its own. We believe that your company’s culture and your company’s brand are really just two sides of the same coin. The brand may lag the culture at first, but eventually it will catch up.”

Ultimately, this is what most companies dream of. I’m a firm believer in this quote and the idea that we should never underestimate the importance of culture.

Thinking the Entrepreneurial Way

Culture can grow in an entrepreneurial way, or I can focus on it with purposeful action. Either way, it has to happen and be paid attention to. Zappos committed time and resources to the growth of their culture by making its core competency great customer service. They supported this mindset even when it sacrificed additional profits. How did this culture mindset make them lose profits? First, they kept their call center in-house instead of outsourcing it. Then they ran orders down one at a time in their warehouse facility.

As a leader, I need to understand how I would like the company to be perceived now, and 20 years from now. Looking at the Zappos model, I need to start growing my company to mirror this mindset by implementing an active culture from the inside.

Achieving Success the Right Way

Taking an active part in the success of the company starts from the top. By changing the mindset of management and embracing everyone as a unit, the overall culture has to go through a paradigm shift. Companies do well where the employees feel valued. Giving more ultimately results in getting more in the end. Good culture breeds good profits, and good profits yield longevity – the ultimate goal.