3. Company Culture Is A Big Fat Lie

I am not saying that companies don’t have culture, merely that whenever someone tells you what the company culture is laugh at them.  Here’s the definition of culture:

” the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.” or

“the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.”

- dictionary.com

Let’s say I am in an interview (second only to sales meetings when talking about culture) and the interview says our company culture is x, y, and most importantly z.  Should I assume they are lying?  No, but in my experience what this person is describing is (1) what someone told them the goals of the company are OR (2)how they interact with their closest coworkers.  Neither of those matter to you.  Why?  Because as each new employee is added the company culture changes, so the chances of (1) still being right depend on how long and how many employees the company has hired. (2) could be more applicable if the person interviewing you is someone you will be working with quite a bit, but often times it is a out of the loop manager or an HR person.  Neither of those will have a good understanding of the culture of work that you will experience on a day to day basis.

My Experience
Just a few insights from my work experiences.

Small Company:
The company culture was fairly dead on to what the person who interviewed me (owner) said it was, except he made crazy, upbeat, and fast paced sound like positive things.  He also said that they were all friends.  Too bad nobody ever told him the employees were convinced he didn’t understand business and would never ‘get’ them.  In a small company there will definitely be a strong culture. Most likely the dependence on each other makes trust very important and the value and well being of coworkers is important.  This creates a sort of family atmosphere.  Just be aware of the fact that most ‘normal’ families have their secrets.

Medium Company:
The medium company I worked for talked about their ‘culture’ the most of any employer I have had.  On the surface(company outings, trade shows, etc.) they did a great job playing the part, but in the board room decisions were made that often seemed contradictory to the culture.  I have to say that overall this company was the most enjoyable and had the best cultural fit with me although it wasn’t exactly what I was told in the interview.

Large Companies:
Both large companies that I have worked for really didn’t have a discernible culture.  The large companies were also the ones who pushed their ‘cool culture’ on me the most during interviews.  Instead on a day to day basis these large companies are seemed more like large robotic creatures of which I was a tiny cog.  Personalities didn’t show much. Goals and values weren’t apparent.

Summary:
In terms of culture it is hard for a large company to have a single one.  With so many different people and so many different professions and interests having a single culture that is distinguishable is difficult.  If working for a company with a good work culture is important I would make an effort to meet the people you will be working with prior to starting work.  During an interview I think it is perfectly appropriate to ask the interviewer if you can meet the team you will be working with.  You certainly won’t get the whole picture, but it might give you a better idea of what day to day work will be like. 

In general when looking at what type of company to work for I would disregard size. After having worked at all different sizes of companies in multiple industries I have noticed that size is not near as important as your close coworkers and the work that you will do.  Make an effort to understand both of these before accepting any offer.  Ask for specifics during your interview. What projects will I work on? Can I see an example of previous work?  Who will I work with?  Where can I grow without having to move positions?  Remember, even in a down economy, the interview is for you as much as it is for the hiring company.

smitandherwhatnots:

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Via 99%

kanyegate:

badtendencies:

thedailywhat:

[via.]

Reading Source: HarvardBusiness.org

Summary:
John Baldoni’s article is centered around his thoughts on a David Brooks column he read.  His basic thoughts are that leaders who want to inspire their workers can effectively use humility to show our humanity and empower a successful team.

Thoughts:

• I have continually stated that leadership and management are two separate things and that most people in leadership positions tend to merely manage.  I think this article does a good job of summarizing one of the biggest differences I find between leadership and management. Leaders understand the strengths of their team and help each member perform to their utmost ability whereas managers most often dictate tasks and ignore individual differences and strengths.

• Too often “leaders” are not humble, think they know better, and stifle growth of their subordinates. One statement from the article makes this point abundantly clear: “Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman note in their seminal text, First, Break All the Rules, that a characteristic of successful managers is their ability to promote others, sometimes to positions higher than their own.” Without humility you cannot recognize that someone is better than yourself at something. Leaders need to realize the end goal is not to control everything, rather organize resources to achieve goals.
• In an information age with rapid change talented team members are more important than ever. During my time running the operations of a company I quickly realized I did not have time to overview every thing that happened. Not only did I not have time, but I was not the most knowledgable on many of the situations.  It took my understanding that I had a knowledge gap on certain topics (my becoming humble) and empowering my team to make decisions in areas of their core competency that allowed for effective decision making and growth.  One of the biggest changes in business is the speed with which change happens.  It is more important now than ever before that leaders allow their talent to thrive.
• Being humble is fun. Power is stressing. As much as I initially hated losing control of certain things I ultimately realized:
  • I couldn’t effectively control everything anyway
  • I hadn’t really lost control.  If someone made decisions detrimental to the success of the company I could always replace them.

The results were something great.  Employees felt more respect, more pride in their work, and productivity went up.  Lines of communication open up when people feel respected in their areas of expertise.  As personal humility, respect, and communication increased so did pride in the company and the goals we were trying to achieve.

Not sure about you, but I would much rather give up some personal pride and replace it with pride in accomplishments of a team.  When you become a humble leader, one who leads with respect and actions, I believe success will come more often and you’ll have a great team to enjoy it with.

Hrm…

This article makes sense in theory, but I have two questions/prodding thoughts:

• Are you telling me I actually need to lift weights to get good at working at a desk?
• The day off thing is hard to achieve.  As a contractor and business owner it is very difficult to find time to take a break.  I think most business people would agree.  That day of rest thing doesn’t exist in our society or culture.  In fact I just read an article from Harvard Business talking about how “practice days” were non-existent for entrepreneurs.

So is it hustle hustle, or lift and relax?

• No, I didn’t watch the VMA’s
• Yes, I feel a little sorry for Taylor
• Yes, Kanye is an ass… or is he?

I like this short write up on the effects of Kanye’s newest outburst.  If Ms. Swift can get over the onstage humiliation and look at dollars she has a reason to be happy.  Of course if I were Taylor Swift I wouldn’t care about more money, I would just want to dent Kanye’s skull with my new award.  Either way… interesting read.

“P&G invests heavily in innovation, outspends the competition in R&D, and targets emerging markets with growth potential. But to execute, P&G is redoubling emphasis on its culture and values.”