B4B firms don't F##% up their culture

(Reading time 3 minutes. Why B4B companies do not compromise on culture?)

Ever wondered why good companies with great legacy fail?

Here is a partial list of renowned brands that have failed or are dying.

Failed: BlockBuster, Nokia, Barings Bank, Borders, K-Mart, General Motors, Circuit City, Orion Pictures, Planet Hollywood, Daewoo.

Dying: Sears, OfficeMax, US Airways, RadioShack, KingFisher, HP.

These were/are house hold brands with boat loads of free cash flows pouring in every quarter. They ruled the roost and managed to capture consumer's imagination for long periods of time.

They all had great leaders, smart executives and reputed board who could have guided it to safety during troubled times. Yet, the ones that failed don't exist anymore. The ones that are dying are fading away and writing their own obituary.

So what went wrong?

Lack of leadership? Competence? Changing markets? Competitors?

Barring a few cases, the thing that got all of them was culture. The human glue which you can't see.

Let's just pick one from this list and drill deep to find out what went wrong.

One of the cataclysmic failures in the recent time was Nokia. The exemplar of mobile phone era who had 70% market share in 2012. The pundits had many excuses as to why Nokia failed to adapt.

It ranged from Nokia being technically inferior to Apple, it being too hardware centric to its leaders missing the arrival of the iPhone (and Steve Jobs).

Though most of it is true but the death blow came from culture.

Despite knowing Symbian OS as a weak operating system, the middle managers kept fearing temperamental leaders who are prone to emotional outbursts. When fear permeated all levels, the lower rungs of the organisation turned inward to protect resources, themselves and their units, giving little away, fearing harm to their personal careers.

Top managers failed to motivate the middle managers with their heavy-handed approaches and they were in the dark with what was really going on.

Collapse was imminent. It just buckled under its own 'ego' weight.

So what is Culture?

Let's again take help from Merriam's dictionary. Here are a few definitions:

• the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time
• a particular society or tribe that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.
• a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization (such as a business)

I am picking three cue words that generally define our cultural existence - beliefs, way of life and thinking.

Why did I pick these three?

These three attributes create trust amongst human beings. If both you and I believe in something, think the same way and have a way of life - we form a tribe.

We trust each other and have each other's back.

This is how we build neighbourhoods, colonies, towns, organisations and even countries. This invisible cementing human glue is called culture.

Culture is what will enable an entity endure the passage of time. It brings people together during both good and bad times. Culture is what creates the foundation for all future innovation.

If you break the culture, you break the core (soul) that creates products and solutions that resonate with the market.

Let's see how losing culture breaks companies?

Classic example from contemporary times - Hewlett Packard.

Beloved 'HP Way'.

Both Hewlett and Packard had a broader vision for the HP way. Seeing profit as an enabler of other equally valuable objectives, including people (employees) and citizenship.

A culture soaked in technological engineering creating cutting edge products that customers loved. It was further backed by breakthrough management ideas such as 'management by objectives' and 'respect for the individual'.

It bonded people through trust and respect.

What a legacy and base with which you can inspire possibilities.

A true Business For Business company. But it changed course.

The demise started from 1999 when the company sold its core value as it merged with Compaq, as well as firing nearly 30,000 employees and sending tens of thousands of jobs oversea. In the name of strategic intent.

"When you break the culture, you break the core (soul of the company) that creates magic".

Since then the bricks have tumbled one after the other as the mothership lost its rudder. Now we all know how that the company is being sliced into zillion bits, in a 'value extraction' mode, by a smart CEO.

Intellectually appealing. Viscerally disappointing.

So what do B4B companies do?

They protect their culture as a candle in the wind. They just don't F##% it up.

When you are a business built for other businesses to be successful (a B4B company) you are much more responsible, patient, empathetic and lead with your heart.

You just won't let your customers down!

You want to continuously create value to customers by hiring and building teams that believes in its purpose, core values and its very existence.

You live your culture. You live your values. Not on decorated office walls and bill boards but in coffee conversations. In the emails you send to each other. In the way you greet and meet your colleague. In the way leaders engage their people.

You build a tribe of passionate people who create magic. You attract CEOs who commit to building a legacy (not just profits). You attract customers who believe in what you do. You attract investors who go 'long' and help build financial bulwark as a safe guard.

You don't hesitate to disrupt yourself to serve your customers. You learn to handle innovator's dilemma. You learn to handle market pressure.

You will find a way to be digitally relevant. You change. You adapt. You take both failures and victory in your stride. You persist.

You become a IKEA. You become a Singapore Airlines. You become a Wells Fargo.

A brand people will fall in love with.

You are revered.

You seek the highest mantle of value creation. Not value extraction. No gun shot exits or mergers. No opportunistic private equity deals.

You become a Business For Business company.

Don't we all want to work and give our 200% to such a company?

Follow through articles on B4B idea

1) B2B is dead. B4B is born. [5 Minutes read. Plenty of examples and inquiry].

2) Why B4B Selling is the way to go? [3 minute read. Challenges B2B seller's thinking]

3) Are you a B2B or B4B company? [4 minutes read. Many examples to illustrate the point]

About Agility Nexus (www.agilitynexus.com)

Agility Nexus is a Sales and Business Consulting and Coaching company serving business leaders in Technology Industry to accelerate revenue generation. We consult, coach, train and solve problems at the intersection of marketing and sales. We blend various strategies including Emotional Intelligence to help sellers better connect, engage with customers and offer great customer experience.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' button and also share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. I encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions so feel free to add a comment on this post. Please follow my LinkedIn post page for all my articles.