Culture-Business Model Framework

The way you treat people impact the way the work, what they bring to the table, how they work, how they feel, relationship with their spouse and children and how they impact society. The culture and business model of a company impacts its people in more ways than many know. Your business model and culture should make work fun for everyone.

In a Truly Human Company, there is a strategic collaboration between culture and business model that gives an edge in the marketplace. Culture has to do with how you treat your people while business model has to do with how you treat your customers. Great companies are organizations who serve their employees and customers at the same time.

Companies like Google, Netflix and Container Store are known both for their culture and business model. There was a debate in Harvard over whether it’s the business model of Barry-Wehmiller or its culture is what gives it strategic advantage. Bob Chapman agrees their success was due to their culture but then added that if not for their robust business model, the culture wouldn’t have had a chance.

Organizational culture needs to ride on a robust business model, while the robust business model gets powered by the culture. Without a human-centered culture, work will become stressful. The biggest cause of chronic illness at work is stress. The cause of stress is a culture that treats people as functions not humans.

Without a Truly Human Culture powering the Truly Human Business Model people are pushed and pressured to create economic value because success is measured in terms of revenue and profits. No one cares how they make progress as long as they do. People celebrate the end without minding the means. You can destroy more lives climbing the ladder, no one cares as long as you get up.

Most companies destroy the lives of their people, their families, communities and environment then turn around to give money in the name of giving back. This is more or less an organization’s business model being powered by inhuman culture. A culture that doesn’t care for people but for the numbers.

“Your greatest act of charity is not the money you give to the United Way, the Heart Association, or the cancer site. Your greatest act of charity in this world is how you treat the people you have the privilege of leading.” Bob Chapman

A wrong culture will reward a leader who sacrifice people and pressure people to create the numbers, rather than reward the people who make sacrifices for the business to succeed. When we have a great culture, it balances and skew the business model towards humanity.

The business model creates value, while the culture is how you treat people. The culture is not a set of value on how people should behave and act in the workplace: it is the way leaders in that company treats their people. When you treat your people like humans, with care, they will go the extra mile to create value and ensure that the business functions.

When you treat people with care, respect and honor their dignity, they will be inspired to bring their full potential to work, they will be engaged and perform at their highest level making significant contributions to the company. When people operate at their full potential, the business model becomes well oiled to perform maximally.

When the culture is right, people will be happy. Gallup did a survey in 155 countries and found out that the number one source of happiness in the world is not wealth, not health, but a good job doing meaningful work with people you enjoy. That is culture at work.

When the culture is broken, the business model only creates economic value and not human value. This results in broken homes and society. This impacts the children who take that to their schools and grow up with the way they were raised as standards. This is how the culture of an organization impacts society. Organizations need to have the right culture to power their business model.

When you have substandard fuel powering your engine, your engine knocks. You will waste your fuel, when you put it in an engine that is not right for it. The best is to have the right fuel powering the right engine. This is why to design the Truly Human Business Model; you have to design the Truly Human Culture. They work hand in hand.

Culture-Business Model Collaboration

Good culture means caring culture, while bad culture means inhuman culture. Good culture treats people as humans, while bad culture treats them as function.

Good business model is people-centric, while bad business model is profit-centric.

1. Bad Culture Bad Business Model: These organizations don’t last long. Fab is an example. It went under because its culture and business model were not right. They were trying to build. They were focused on making money at all cost. Their people were just a tool to achieve their end: make money.

2. Bad Culture Good Business Model: The business model will never realize its potential. Uber is an example of a company with good business model but bad culture. They treat their customers well but not their people. The culture puts the business model at risk. It pushes people in order to meet the numbers.

3. Good Culture Bad Business Model: The treat their people well but don’t give them the right tools and environment to maximize their potential. The people feel frustrated. They are not paid well and they don’t feel safe because the business model doesn’t give them a guarantee of a future with the company. People need to feel safe with a company,

4. Good Culture Good Business Model: They treat their people right who bring their all to create value, have a transformational relationship with their customers and provide meaningful experience to the customer. Examples of companies here include Luck Company, Microsoft, Ikea and more. These companies experience more innovation that any. Its people are happy and fulfilled. All their activities are value creation related. They feel what they do is important, they matter and are valued by the company. They feel safe too. So, they bring their A game to the table to help their employer advance their cause.

No matter where you company is right now, you should assess your culture and business model to ensure that they are human-centered. We can help you transition to a Truly Human Company and install a Truly Human Culture and Truly Human Business Model in your business. Why not call for a free consultation?

To help Startup Entrepreneurs get it right at the startup stage, we are launching the Truly Human Startup Academy. We will take you through what is required to build a startup that can scale and then guide you to get funding to scale. It will last for 2-3 months. It will be an online Academy. We understand that hiring the right critical people with the right mindset and startup capability is crucial to the success of the startup. To bridge that gap we will be training people who can be matched to work with startups in the Academy. Interested to be part of the first Cohort starting this January? Send an email to [email protected] or send a Whatsapp message to +2349071602727 (Nigerians only please).

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