3 Steps for Building a World-Class Corporate Culture

The following is adapted from A CEO Only Does Three Things.

Everyone’s talking about the importance of company culture these days, but there’s a reason for all the discussion. Your company culture affects every aspect of your business. In the busyness of running a business, leaders often forget about big ideas like culture, but in truth, it’s one of the core responsibilities of every CEO.

If you don’t curate your culture, someone else will. Forming a culture can be left to chance, or you can cultivate and groom the culture you want.

In working with and studying companies known for their cultures, I’ve learned these three key steps for building a world-class culture that will lead your organization to world-class results.

Step #1: Conduct a Values Assessment

The first step to building a world-class culture is to make your values conscious by articulating them intentionally. You must take inventory of the shared values of the group. What are those things that you and your team believe to be universally true?  

This work begins with you playing the part of detective. You should observe from a distance, maintain your objectivity, and watch to see what behaviors show up. This is not a time for judgment, only an opportunity to gather information.

• Watch how people handle personal transitions. Are birthdays, promotions, work
• anniversaries, and milestones marked and celebrated with enthusiasm? 
• Do people show up to work on time and primed for productivity? Are deadlines met?
• Do people socialize outside of work? 
• Listen to the voice of your company. What phrases pop up most often in conversations about work? How do your people describe the company and their roles in it? How do they perceive customers? What do these verbal behaviors say about your culture?
• Look closely at how people decorate their workspaces. Do you see motivational posters, pictures of family and pets, favorite quotes? Are there rules posted everywhere? What do these visual behaviors say about your culture?

Next, involve your team. Facilitate a high-level, positive discussion in which each person is encouraged to give voice to the most important behaviors they observe. Do not share your list but instead lead the team in brainstorming theirs. At this stage, you only want to capture those values that are true and desirable in your company.

Examine your list and your team’s list side by side. Do you and your people see your culture through the same lens? What insights present themselves when contrasting the two lists?

Look at the behaviors on your lists and identify their underlying beliefs. Beliefs that drive behaviors, we call values. List your values, consolidating where you see overlap.

Taking all of this into account, ask yourself how well your organization manifests your values to the world each day. For each value, ask: “How confident am I that the whole team lives this value every day?” Assign a score between 0 percent and 100 percent.

Now, look at the list again. Those values that you grade above 85 percent are the true values of your culture. The number of core values you settle on does not matter—some businesses have as few as three, others more than twenty. Less can be more. Focus only on those values that produce the behaviors most necessary for success. 

Step #2: Craft Value Statements

For employees to fully adopt those values that we have identified as governing our culture, we need to provide enough context so that people understand the why, the how, and the what (the end result). In other words, what’s in it for them?

It falls to the CEO to complete the values inventory and to give those values refinement, context, and expression. It’s not enough to say, “We value truth.” Rather, you must craft a statement that illustrates the context surrounding the value. This statement should capture why this value is core to your culture and how it is expressed through behaviors.

For example, my firm values honesty as a core value and it’s articulated like this:

BE TRUTHFUL

We practice Truth for its own sake. It may be called by many names, but great People recognize that Truth is universal and unchangeable. Honesty, integrity, authenticity, and doing the right thing all carry strong auras of positive influence. Truth defines our firm.

No matter the consequences, we tell the Truth. We do so fiercely when appropriate, gently when called for, but authentically at all times.

We do the right thing, as well as say the right thing.

We know that Truth brings courage and confidence.

By articulating the value “Be Truthful” in this way, we clearly communicate what it means to us and how it should influence our work and choices. We designed the value around our business and our people. Your values may be quite different, but the framework should be the same:

• Articulate the value
• Provide the necessary context
• Express the behaviors that are associated with that value

I realize that this can be challenging. Do not let it frustrate you. Do not be afraid to go back and revise your value statements to craft the best versions possible. In fact, you should do so.

The more work you put into getting the formulation perfect upfront, the more widely accepted and the better activated a given value will be over the long term. The drafting process is complete when the final version provides enough context that someone encountering the value for the first time can understand what behavior your culture requires.

Step #3: Choose a Theme

In completing this step, you must think deeply and originally about your organization. What theme will speak to the team? What will pull them in and keep them engaged? Exercise your creativity and choose a compelling theme that communicates and engages. Develop it from within and frame it in a way that makes sense to you.

I work with clients across multiple industries, and the themes of their cultural operating systems are as unique as the cultures they describe. For example, one of our clients in the entertainment industry describes their values as the “FUNdamentals,” with an emphasis on delighting clients and delivering memorable experiences. Another client in the restaurant franchising business shares its “Secret Sauce” with each employee. In each case, the CEO has chosen a relevant theme that speaks to the team and serves to tie the values into a single package.

There are many worthwhile examples to follow, but if you simply duplicate another business’s value system, it will not stick. The DNA of the transplant won’t match that of the host, and as with a failed organ transplant, your people will reject it. You can learn from others, but your value system has to be developed organically. It must be yours.

What theme best speaks to your concept of your organization’s culture? What related concepts or images suggest themselves when you think about this theme? How might they be deployed to make the theme more attractive to your organization?

Commit to the Process

For both you and your company, this important process in identifying your values and forming your culture should trigger an emotional response. When I assess values in a workshop format or one-on-one with clients, I often see sincere tears. Values should affect you and your people at a deep level. If they do not, you may have the wrong values or the wrong people. Either way, you have something to fix. This process is the pathway to making these necessary changes.  

Once you commit to working the steps in this important process, your culture will begin to come into focus. Your employees will start to invest in this cultural ideal because you have included them in the process. You have assigned value to them, which will then be reflected in their behaviors. This is how you build a world-class culture all your own.

For more advice on building a world-class company culture, you can find A CEO Only Does Three Things on Amazon.

Trey Taylor is the managing director of trinity | blue, a consultancy designed to provide executive coaching and strategic planning to C-Suite leaders. His experience derives from fields as diverse as technology, financial services, venture capital, and commercial real estate development.  Frequently featured as a keynote speaker, he has addressed attendees at the Human Capital Institute, the Ascend Conference, and many other engagements. You can find out more about Taylor’s consulting work at trinity-blue.com.