From time to time during conference Q&A sessions I’m asked “How did you create the culture at 37signals?” or “What do you recommend we do to set up an open, sharing company culture like yours?”
My answer: You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior. If you encourage people to share, and you give them the freedom to share, then sharing will be built into your culture. If you reward trust then trust will be built into your culture.
Artificial
Artificial cultures are instant. They’re big bangs made of mission statements, declarations, and rules. They are obvious, ugly, and plastic. Artificial culture is paint.
Real
Real cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth. They are nuanced, beautiful, and authentic. Real culture is patina.
Don’t think about how to create a culture, just do the right things for you, your customers, and your team and it’ll happen.
Stephen Bartholomew
on 13 May 08Amen to that. My wife told me a great story about a large company she used to work for.
The company wanted engineers to feel ownership over their work which they hoped would improve quality.
Their solution to this was to put up posters in all the offices saying:
“You should feel ownership over your work”
Hugo Stevens
on 13 May 08Jason,
I agree that real culture takes time to be built. But saying that “it happens” is a bit misleading. Creating the right culture takes effort and consistency and making it clear what you stand for, as it is shaped by the decisions that leaders and members make when things get tough (i.e. “we want to innovate” but cut budgets at the first sign of trouble) and the stories that get told (like the Nordstrom employees gift-wrapping a shirt that a customer bought at some other store). On the other hand, I completely agree with your comment about culture behing a by-product of behavior. Too bad we don’t often stop to think how our day to day decisions make suc an impact.
Charlton
on 13 May 08Culture is, as you note, something organic and emergent. But it can be created, by people thinking, “What effect will this decision have on the culture we have here? Will that be a positive change?”
Culture is created the way a vegetable garden is created—by making an environment where the right kind of things happen, and by rewarding the right things and weeding out or cutting away the wrong things. You can’t make a vegetable garden by decree any more than you can make a positive work culture by decree, but you can cultivate both.
guynameddave
on 13 May 08Perhaps the reason more companies are not willing to let “culture happen” is that there’s risk. You didn’t mention that in the post. But there is risk. There’s always risk. If you like things cut and dry, either or or… well letting culture “happen” is not going to be acceptable. Too much risk that something unexpected will happen. Good culture and times of failure go hand and hand. Maybe another title for the post could be “You don’t create culture, but you gotta keep going when it happens.”
Peter Urban
on 13 May 08I think it all comes down to authenticity. It is what people crave the most in products, markets, people and in their workplace as well. Becoming authentic means being consistently yourself which will result in people that will like your authentic self (company, product…) and people that don’t.
If you don’t like yourself enough to be yourself in public (at work, markets…) then don’t put paint on. Work on yourself (your company, product…) till you like it enough so that it doesn’t need a paint job.
Peter do you follow me on http://twitter.com/peterurban
Alex Hillman
on 13 May 08Well said.
To the commenters who pointed out that “it just happens” is a misleading statement, I don’t think that’s what Jason was saying.
I think his point was carefully calculated, planned culture feels as such.
You cannot impose culture. You can only cultivate it.
And that’s what Jason (and Hugo and Chalton) are pointing to.
By guiding and leading by example, along with processing feedback from your team and your customers, you take an active part in something that ultimately would happen on it’s own, just not at the speed of business.
Culture is serendipitous. The best thing you can do is accelerate serendipity.
But, baby, don’t fake it. I can tell.
Nate Westheimer
on 13 May 08Well said, Alex.
JF
on 13 May 08Perhaps the reason more companies are not willing to let “culture happen” is that there’s risk. You didn’t mention that in the post. But there is risk.
Certainly. I’d say there’s more risk in building something artificial, rules driven, and contrived. Once you have a BS culture you can’t shake it (for a long time). People won’t believe you.
Alex Hillman
on 13 May 08Jason,
I think that your counterintuitive point of mitigating risk by controlling a situation is spot on.
Here’s how I see it: By being risk averse, you’re not only avoiding the potential (and finite) problems, but the potential (and infinite) benefits. There’s nothing wrong with attempting to calculate risk. But you need to remember that it’s a calculation of something very human and natural, and therefore, has a high rate of being an incorrect calculation.
Go with your gut. If it looks off, it’s off. If it feels off, it’s off.
Vicky H
on 13 May 08The ironic thing about this post is Jason’s right and all the commenter’s are right, but you (Jason & commenters) and I are a different bunch then most ‘corporate’ types.
They don’t realize that they have a BS culture, because they’re too caught up in their own ego’s to realize anything that truly is going on. There are so many people telling them how ‘fabulous’ they are that they think they are.
They think they are fabulous, have a fabulous culture, or have a fabulous place to work, or whatever.
So, the irony is that only transparent people really see the value in transparency at a high level in organizations!
So now all of you “Go change the World” and Jason, please get back to me from our emails about two weeks ago ::))
And @Alex. I won’t fake it if you don’t :)
Shannon
on 13 May 08In order for it to “happen”, though, you have to get the right components in place.
Culture happens through careful hiring, through making sure that everyone you have working at a company have goals and values and work ethics that mesh with everyone else’s, through mutual respect and having an atmosphere where people feel they can be creative and work hard and feel like they’re doing something fun and cool as well as productive.
If you get the right people in there, the right leaders and the right everyone else, you don’t really have to think about it anymore. In that case yes, it “happens”. But if you had hired one asshole, then it wouldn’t just “happen”. One asshole, especially an asshole in disguise, can destroy an otherwise great culture faster than you would believe.
And yes, the people who have to ask “how do we do it” don’t get it. They’ve already got the assholes in there. Maybe it’s even the asshole you’re talking to. But there’s no way they’re going to get it. It’s already too late.
Peter Urban
on 13 May 08re Vicky H
‘Meatball Sundae’ by Seth Godin is a good book that covers the conflict in traditional companies of wanting to participate in the new culture but keep their corporate policies in place.
peter follow me @ twitter.com/peterurban
Vicky H
on 13 May 08Thanks Peter, I may just check out that book.
Now, I might follow u on twitter. :)
JF
on 13 May 08Vicky, I have replied to your emails. Maybe we crossed streams somewhere and you’re waiting for me while I thought I was waiting for you.
Vicky H
on 13 May 08@JF
Thanks.
This is almost like twitter. Wait to hear from you.
Mehmet Subasi
on 13 May 08Just replace all “cultures” in this article with “community” and you have the magic formula for building online communities. “You don’t create a online community”
David Andersen
on 13 May 08Good cultures have rules too.
John
on 14 May 08I’d say this parallels what Paul Graham has said about building another Silicon Valley – you don’t build it, you grow it. Probably the same is true about a company culture.
Nollind Whachell
on 14 May 08Culture is, as you note, something organic and emergent.
Agreed. Culture is something that is influenced or nurtured. It’s same with online communities. You don’t really create or build them, they’re nurtured like a garden that you have tend daily.
The company wanted engineers to feel ownership over their work which they hoped would improve quality.
Haha, true. I love it when companies always say in job postings that they are looking for “creative” and “passionate” individuals. My response in turn would be is “What do you do as a company to create a creative and passionate environment for your employees?” :)
Good cultures have rules too.
Hmm, I’d probably say simple guidelines rather than hard rules. Good cultures I find are quite flexible.
Dorai Thodla
on 14 May 08Culture emerges initially from the synergy and shared values of the founding team. We need to articulate it so that you can look for similar values in people you hire or encourage it. A company culture may change over time too. We do need “culture catalysts”.
Ken Nickless
on 14 May 08Culture can only be nurtured by people who care. Setting the right standards and leading by example will provide the platform for encouraging a stable and ongoing culture.
Miksago
on 14 May 08hmm.. I’d have to say it’s impossible to “build culture”, as it’s a natural process, and every culture’s different and diverse. I’d have to point out one of the best examples of culture i know existing within places around the internet; such as, deviantART, and most channel on freenode irc.
These places never set out to create a culture, it’s an organic growth, these places grow in population over time, gradually. It’s taken deviantART about 8 years to have the culture it has, if something springs up as a new one hit wonder, then it won’t have culture, culture takes time, it takes community and varied user bases. On IRC, you have people working on all different sorts of things, programming, design, art, gaming, etc.
Also, rules aren’t dished out by a dictator in a good culture, yes, there are normally guidelines, but it’s common internet rules, like nothing offensive or spammy. People naturally ad hear to these types of rules, so the culture forms which, naturally abides them, making anyone who doesn’t stand out.
This is just my three bobs worth.
Nollind Whachell
on 14 May 08hmm.. I’d have to say it’s impossible to “build culture”, as it’s a natural process, and every culture’s different and diverse.
Good point about diversity. That’s why cultures are so hard to “create” because it’s not just one person setting the rules but instead a group of people collaborating and take responsibility (ownership) for their actions. Having said that though, the “seed” for the culture, to help it start growing, often comes from the top. If management doesn’t nurture a positive culture then more often than not they are hindering it (like a weed).
Charlton
on 14 May 08Haha, true. I love it when companies always say in job postings that they are looking for “creative” and “passionate” individuals. My response in turn would be is “What do you do as a company to create a creative and passionate environment for your employees?”
Oh, I hear this. I’m creative and passionate; when I’m in a work environment where I can be creative and passionate, that comes out at work; when I’m in a dead and stultifying environment at work, my creativity and passion comes out in other projects.
I wish more companies understood this. My work is not my life. (Fortunately, I’m now working for a company that does understand this.)
Nollind Whachell
on 14 May 08Fortunately, I’m now working for a company that does understand this.
Congrats. Those types of companies are far and few between. Nice when you actually find one. :)
John Athayde
on 14 May 08Bad culture happens as well. Trying to unlearn the bad habits of two years in a public company with a lot of high level control is difficult. Basically, it’s the same no matter how you do it: force yourself into good habits. Encourage those in others. Enable your employees.
But throw the mission statement document in the fire.
Dan
on 16 May 08“Artificial culture is paint”
For some resason I read this as “Artifical culture is pants”. Which is equally as true
Derek Powazek
on 16 May 08The same can be said about community: it’s not built, it’s grown.
This discussion is closed.