The most surprising aspect of a SXSW Interactive workshop on corporate culture was how few people showed up and participated.  “Beyond Ping Pong Tables: Building Better Companies” was by far the best discussion of that behavioral petri-dish we call culture I’ve ever attended.  Led by a fascinating leadership trio, it condensed experience from the nonprofit, Wall Street, entrepreneurial and corporate worlds:

• Jessica Lawrence, executive director of the New York Tech Meetup
• Rasanth Das, co-founder, Bhakti Center (and former Wall Street banker)
• Vipin Goyal, founder and CEO, SideTour (and former McKinsey consultant)
  

  Culture is a major organizational success factor. Be intentional in cultivating it.

The takeaway:  Each of us is a culture cop. Culture is everybody’s business. . Our values model our behavior, which shapes our culture.  It starts with the CEO, but everybody else is part of the  check and balance.

All too often this becomes a cult of CEO’s personality.  Vibrant organizations understand this and intentionally transform this misplaced focus on externals into an organization-wide investment in the values that shape people’s behavior.

Casual cultures break down under pressure, as do dysfunctional ones.  I’ve learned this the hard way first, as a veteran of IBM’s implosion in the 90’s, during the start up bust of the early 2000’s and again with a small agency.  Warning:  Disintegrating cultures are very painful and lead to their own form of PTSD.  Practical tips from Lawrence, Das and Goyal:

Hire for culture over competence; ask candidates:

• What books are you reading?
• What was the last thing you googled?
• What do you watch on TV/movies?

Think of the employee handbook as an articulation of corporate culture:

• Considering a new job?  Ask to read the handbook.
• Check for vacation guidelines, maternity/paternity leave, and gauge it against your values
• How does the physical space allow for interaction, concentration or lack of both?  Does it offer multiple functional spaces?  Common spaces for accidental intersections?

The hardest:  Spend time talking about culture. It may be your biggest success factor:

• Sacred cow bbq, where people list their nonnegotiables on post-its, prioritize and distill them into a list of values.
• Write a corporate obituary, what do you want customers, employees to remember?

Food for thought – and action.