A lot of business and organizational behavior gurus discuss and analyze the important of culture in building a successful business. When I first went to business school and learned about “corporate culture”, I thought it sounded quite hokey and soft especially since I was more analytical like most business school students. With years of real world experience (my father-in-law calls it getting your “curls”), I have learned that culture is everything.
What does culture in a company setting really mean? To me, it is the common thread – the single most important thing or multiple things - that bonds the people in your organization. And what many often do not understand is that having a strong corporate culture does not mean you have the same cookie-cutter people working for you. For example, at Axispoint we are not an homogenous group. We have people from all walks of life from varied backgrounds and with wildly different interests. However, there is a common bond that exists in all Axispoint teammates, and it is what makes our company hum (“differentiated”). If you were to prick the fingers of our teammates, you would find three “like” characteristics: an unending commitment to caring – both customer and employee; complex problem solving skills; and a sense of scrappiness which is a doer mentality above and beyond entrepreneurism.
Why is this important? In our case, Axispoint’s culture has made us what we are today. By really caring and focusing on what our customers and employees need, we have achieved incredibly high customer and employee retention (which combined with a strong sales model is a self-fulfilling prophecy for growth). Being able to solve our clients most complex issues has created increased customer stickiness. Our team’s scrappiness has built further differentiation by being a firm that cannot only think strategically, but can roll up our sleeves and get the work done (“execution”). All three of these characteristics combined comprise Axispoint’s corporate culture and have created the firm we are today. Our challenge is to maintain, nurture and embrace our culture as we continue our corporate expansion. This is certainly not a fait accompli and requires continual monitoring to ensure not the “same” people, but the “right-fit” people are hired as we grow. Culture is not simply important – it defines the organization. Culture is everything.
It is so refreshing to see this shared by a CEO! More often that not, discussions on culture come from the bottom up. Your decision to make this a priority allows all within Axispoint to embrace it, and to understand their role in supporting it. Thanks also for reminding us, Dan, that having the same values/priorities doesn't mean that we have to be the same. A diverse workforce, particularly in a consulting/services organization like Axispoint, will not only make you stronger, but the "wisdom of crowds" proves that it will lead to better insights and solutions for your clients.
Posted by: Mary Eggert | April 17, 2009 at 07:29 AM