From the moment a company is established a culture is being built. Since day 1, each decision made, each person hired, each success and failure shapes and contributes to the development of your corporate culture. Business owners consistently try to craft a culture on paper when their company reaches a certain capacity with the hope being that the same core values established during the company’s infancy will be passed on to new blood, regardless of their background with the company and owner.
If this is all breaking news and you didn’t realize that you’re continually building your culture, start thinking about it now. Be honest with your goals and values as a business owner and effects will trickle down. Understand that while a vision statement may not be hung on the wall of your 3-person, dining room office, your decisions and day-to-day interactions with people shape what eventually may become an engraved plaque in your lavish conference room. In other words, you don’t need to force culture, just craft it by your decisions, actions, and beliefs – day by day.
Reading that back to myself – that sounds pretty existential. Maybe taking a look at some common culture defining elements that are used in mission/vision statements and company value lists across the country.

Collaboration and Communication: Successful companies foster a “we” attitude and an inclusive “togetherness” that allows the company to always precede the individual. Brainstorming, sharing ideas, and weighing the strengths and weaknesses of not only ideas – but processes as well can promote a solid company culture where everyone feels they have a voice and influence on success.

Work Smarter: While there isn’t a replacement for hard work and dedication – it’s important to analyze the results of your effort to determine how and where to improve. Having quantifiable outcomes to your hard work allows you to prioritize effectively and spend your time and energy on projects that produce to most/best result.

Enjoy Success: When a project is sold or delivered – celebrate. While we don’t mean for you to break out the champagne every time good news is relayed — it’s important to recognize and celebrate success. Extend this to birthdays, weddings, babies, and holidays and start building a community of people that are both productive working together and enjoy each other’s company.