Well Baked Brand Culture

Courtesy of Robert Jones , I spent about 2 hours yesterday, speaking with Steve Winter, the founder of BREAD SOURCE , a company famous for never laying off any employee in 12 years of running their business.

Here are 7 things I learnt about brand culture from Bread Source

Before I start I’ll like to establish that;

A brand culture is reflective of how much faith the people inside of an organisation have in the organisation’s leadership and identity that they are willing to commit to the values of the organisation to the extent that they may even have to alter their own beliefs and identity to fit or conform to the organisations ideals.

Lesson 1; This may sound redundant but the only way to build a brand culture is to be the brand.

This is easily the first lesson I’ll share because it captures the core of how the business is run. The founder has a perfect analogy for this, he calls it the “cockroach mentality” . Which explains that the reason cockroach will feel comfortable in a space is because there is so much mess around. If you clear out the mess, then cockroaches won’t have a conducive environment to live off. This explains that if your organisation has core values, then live it out consciously and loudly. From the founder to everyone on the management team.

For example if honesty is a core value then everyone must be honest at all times even when it feels like it’s bad for business, liars will naturally find their way out of such environment. Core values are not just nice to have. It’s not just something you add to your business strategy or website content. It must be how you see the world, what you believe in and what you can wake up everyday defending with your life. Then the culture will slowly take shape.

Lesson 2; Transferring belief within a business is the same as within a religious group. You have to teach and keep teaching.

Jesus gave a very interesting but specific instruction to the disciples, “go preach, then teach them to observe all things”. This is how bread source also transfers their brand culture. The founder highlighted that, “I am constantly in their ear”. He is not just leaving the culture to natural formation, but there is a deliberate attempt at ensuring that everyone is hearing the same thing. This is also why your pastors will teach series on doctrinal issues. Hammering it in.

My rule of thumb is;

If you must develop a great culture, you must devote at least an hour a week to teaching your people. At the very least, an hour a week.

Lesson 3; You will never build a great brand culture if you don’t understand why the people of a business are the most important asset.

There are many dimensions of culture, but people make, define, transfer and kill culture. It’s all about the people. For a business the product is very important, the channels, the customer etc, all those are very important. However, you won’t have a business if you don’t have people you can count on. Because this is true, it means you have to have a “people first” mindset if you want to build a great culture. Let the people know they are in the centre of things. That they matter. Bread Source has this very interesting setup that instead of the bakers being hidden and in the back, they brought their bakers to the centre with enough air conditioner to make them place feel comfortable. When you walk in you see everything and everyone. They brought the people to the centre.

Lesson 4; More often than not, you’ll need to perform miracles for people to become believers.

If you are a Christian you’ll be familiar with the fact that Jesus performed some miracles that was simply meant to build the faith of the people that saw those miracles. Through out the COVID, bread source was open, giving people free pastries and making sure people have access to bread and pastries. Staff were not demanded to be part of this process, it was based on who was available to volunteer and work at the bakery. However, this moment reinforced the faith employees have in the organisation. They came to a more complete conclusion that the brand is really one that cares and is committed to humanity.

You’ll have to do, and not just say. You’ll have to create those unforgettable moments that reinforces your organisational beliefs.

Lesson 5; Consistency, Consistency, Consistency.

Every action you take Everyday layers up in building a truly remarkable brand culture. The founder of bread source spoke passionately about how he is so committed to the details. Everything matters and must be on-brand.

Consistency is the easiest way to build faith and belief.

Lesson 6; You can’t ignore the internal political landscape of a company and still have a great culture.

You must fix structure, progression, benefits, reward and punishment systems in a way that reflects your core values. You must take lead in the politics of the organisation. In bread source the founder explained the importance of the “higher up”. The business believes nothing is really your fault, the person above you is responsible. It’s part of the thinking in the system. This way people understand that why there are certain expectations of them or benefit to them.

Lesson 7; You can’t create a belief system without first having faith.

The founder hammered on about the fact that he has total faith in his people. Everyone has access to everything. The ones that fail, are a work in progress and he is committed to working with them to become.

This is how he summarised the way they’ve created a fantastic brand culture that have ensured they never have to sack anyone. He says

“genuinely create an environment for good people to do good.”

This is very interesting and I hope this helps your internal branding efforts.