How Culture is Your #1 Competitive Advantage in a Time of Uncertainty

In this Brexit series, professionals discuss how the business community should navigate the UK's departure from the EU. See the stories here, then write your own (use #Article50 in the body of the piece).

If there’s one word that sums up the next twelve months, it’s 'uncertainty'. A tumultuous American presidency, emerging technologies, Brexit fallout, and mass migration have all cast a long shadow over 2017.

The state of digital media is just as uncertain. Unstoppable forces that are already sweeping across our industry are bringing huge changes to our business models and the way we work.

For entrepreneurs, change and uncertainty is our natural habitat. And as Unruly has grown, we've seen many bigger brands come to us for insight into how they could apply elements of start-up culture and philosophy to help them survive and thrive in a climate of constant change and uncertainty. In my experience, it comes down to culture and in times of uncertainty, building a strong culture is your #1 competitive advantage.

1. Building a purposeful culture: As Jim Stengel pointed out in Grow, companies with purpose are 400% more profitable than standard companies. But this is bigger than the bottom line. At Unruly, our vision to transform advertising for the better is something that fires us all up. In the context of the digital media industry, if we can be our bravest selves, commission campaigns that change perceptions and challenge the status quo, build purposeful businesses with collaborative, diverse cultures...if we can do that, then rather than worrying about the future, we can shape a future and an industry that we want to be a part of.

2. Building a people-first culture: Building a strong culture and nurturing your people first and foremost means you can be confident you’ve got a committed team prepared to tackle the toughest problems. Culture is key to Unruly and if emotional tech is our super power, our secret weapon is our people. It's our people who embody our values. It's our people who Share the Love, Deliver Wow, and Inspire Change. It's our people that make me smile every morning when I walk through the door, regardless of the headlines and emails that are flying around.

3. Building an open culture: In times of disruption, an open and transparent culture is more important than ever - you want to know that every member of the company feels comfortable sharing left field opportunities, bringing bad news and raising market challenges at an early stage. You also want people who are willing to challenge decisions and make sure that you have the forums for that to happen - exec open hours, regular retrospectives, Town Halls, and competitions to brainstorm new product ideas. In moments of uncertainty, it's especially important to use Town Halls to communicate the challenges and give people the opportunity to break into smaller groups and share their experiences so it’s not a one-way broadcast. Open-mindedness is key, and this is really the time to hone your peripheral vision, balancing the need to focus on your mission with taking the time to look out the corner of your eyes at what’s going on around you. And you need your whole company to be using their eyes and ears!

4. Building a learning culture: Having spent time with some incredible entrepreneurs, I’ve learned that feeding a curious mindset and maintaining a spirit of curiosity is one of the most important ways to stay ahead of changing business environments. Welcome people who ask 'why?', give recognition to people who ask 'why not?' and 'where next?' and make sure that everyone has opportunities to learn new skills, soak up and share new ideas. Nor does this need a super-sized L&D budget: peer to peer learning is always valuable and when markets are moving quickly the best information is found at the coalface. As well as learning news skills, this is the time to invest in behaviours too - positive and resilient teams come into their own in challenging times.

5. Building an agile culture: The watchword for a business operating in a rapidly changing ecosystem has to be agility – this doesn't mean being fast, it means being responsive to customers, being open to new directions, keeping and feeding an open mind. If we keep listening, keep learning, keep reading, keep evolving, keep experimenting, keep questioning, keep agile we can keep on being at the cutting edge of trends that are reshaping the world we live in. That said, there are so many unknowns and unknown unknowns that it’s important to focus on the things you can control, rather than the things you can’t. With so much data and competing opinions round the table, businesses run the risk of being paralysed by fear and by needing “just one more data point” before making a decision. The honest truth is this: the data points are changing all the time and there’ll always be another reason to delay, so make sure your business intelligence is improving the quality of your decision-making rather than acting as a brake that slows you down.

6. Building a collaborative culture: In uncertain times, the future can feel like a formidable foe. We have a better chance of coming out on top if we pool resources and work together to face uncertainty. Within a company that can mean cross-functional crack squads working to solve particular pain points or product opportunities; a commitment to sharing information and knowledge so there's no single point of failure. Beyond the walls of a company, that means more partnerships and strategic alliances; burying the hatchet with former foes and making sure you're adding value to your broader business ecosystem. There's an African proverb that nails it: 'If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together'. Assuming you're in it for the long haul, think hard about who else you should be travelling with in order to survive and thrive. While others are building walls, be the one to build bridges - they'll lead to new relationships and ideas, stimulating innovation that will put you on a path to long-term success.

7. Building a diverse culture: You've got a better chance of navigating change if you're using the skills and talents of the whole population! The more diverse the team, the better the decision making will be; the more diverse the team, the more innovative your company will be. One McKinsey study even found that the most diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform the financial returns of their competitive set. Recognizing the strategic importance of diversity has never been more important as Brexit threatens to massively reduce access to skilled European workers, leaving UK businesses with an even bigger skills gap.

Despite Brexit, I still believe that there is no better place in the world to start and scale a global company than London and I remain optimistic about the future of British business. Our creativity and entrepreneurial attitude, fast-growing digital economy and focus on skilling up the next generation all provide a firm foundation for future business growth and economic success. There are undoubtedly challenges ahead but I'm looking forward to seeing how British entrepreneurs and businesses turn this moment to their advantage - we might just surprise ourselves!