Posts

And That’s Why The Guys (And Gals) That Work Make Cultures That Rock

“Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb…”

—Dire Straits, “Money for Nothing”

The Guys That WorkFor nearly 40 years we’ve been the guys that work. Childhood friends who in adulthood continue making an annual trek to “hangout.” Men of a certain age who continue to invest in a friendship that’s seen many ups and downs, ins and outs, and others who have come and gone over the years. Men who have had varying careers, varying relationships, some with children and some without, who have experienced hardship and loss as well as success and enduring love. Men who have created an inclusive culture from a shared collective of unique behaviors and experiences that extend well beyond the bounds of their own inner drum circle, affecting many others in their lives – family, friends, colleagues and today even passerby on social networks.

The guys that work. But it’s not all unconditional bromance love-fest because there’s a valuable return for us all – the catch phrases, the sounding boards, the support networks, the referrals and all the memories that keep us motivated, working hard to keep working together and reinvesting in our personal culture.

Just like the “guys at work” reference that Geddy Lee makes about his bandmates and long-time friends in Rush, a progressive rock band that’s been playing together for over 40 years. But the “guys at work” include everyone who works for, in and around Rush, and their extended families and friends. It’s been their inclusive culture for decades (and that includes guys and gals).

Because for those cultures that rock, we’ll not only salute you, men and women alike, we’ll work for you and evangelize for you. Of course that’s a reference to a classic rock song by AC/DC called “For those about to rock,” but it’s a mantra that continues to ring true when it comes to workplace culture today. Great “bands” and brands focus on culture first and foremost so it will drive engagement, business outcomes and ultimately success.

Jim Knight, a leading training and development expert who wrote Culture That Rocks and worked with Hard Rock International for 20 years where he led the renowned School Of Hard Rocks, put it this way on the TalentCulture #TChat Show: Culture is only as strong or weak as the employees that collectively make up the heart and soul of the organization. Company culture should be hard to copy, but not hard to understand.

Right on. Both Jim and I have our culture brand-crushes – one of his is Southwest Airlines and one of mine is Apple (outside of my own mothership PeopleFluent, and TalentCulture, of course). But we both agree that culture is unique in lesser known brands and entities much closer to home as referenced above. What’s interesting is that although company culture is “personal” and we’re familiar with the phrase “home is where the heart is,” but we never hear “work is where the heart is” for cultures that do rock.

And it’s both. Company culture again is that collective set of shared experiences – good and bad and all in between – where we love what we do first. Then we’re loyal to those that we do it within and around and for, and then ultimately the company itself. It has to go from the inside out no matter the inspirational and motivational leadership up top.

Marcus Buckingham concurs. The renowned speaker, author, 20-year veteran of Gallup, and founder and chairman of The Marcus Buckingham Company told me that his research data actually clarifies my above points. But how long people stay and how productive they are while they’re there depends massively on what they end up doing within the job, the actual work that you’re doing actually fits the best of who they are.

The reality is that no matter much the culture rocks and the work loved, the players still come and go due to continuous economic fluctuations and job transience. But there will be more coming and even returning than going when the culture works and keeps us motivated and invested in the high-performance and rewarding shared experience.

And that’s why the guys (and gals) that work make cultures that rock.

#TChat Recap: How To Create A Culture That Rocks

On July 8th we discussed how to create a company culture that rocks. Our guest was my friend Jim Knight, a leading training and development expert who worked with Hard Rock International for 20 years where he led the renowned School Of Hard Rocks.

Jim offered some rocking, high energy dialogue around the art of candidate engagement and why its vital to develop a cohesive company culture. A powerful, productive and fun company culture  is the sum total of its employees. As Jim put it, employees collectively make up the heart and soul of the organization.

This week’s show was a real blast and, for me, really brought home the importance of the cultural fit in the hiring stage and beyond. The Twitters rocked on with us in big numbers this week – trending, for example, in L.A. – a pretty rock n’ roll city!

Great “bands” and brands focus on culture first and foremost so it will drive engagement, business outcomes and ultimately success. So remember #TChat fans, while skills are important, there must also be a rocking fit between the culture of the employer, and employee, ‘brands’.

 

 

Did You Miss The Podcast Show? Listen On BlogTalkRadioiTunes or Stitcher.

What’s Up Next? #TChat returns Wednesday, July 15th: #TChat Radio Kicks Off at 1pm ET / 10am PT — Our radio show runs 30 minutes. Usually, our social community joins us on the Twitters as well.

Next topic: #TChat Preview: How To Build And Market Your Employer Brand — Wednesday, July 15, 2015 — Our halfway point begins with our highly engaging Twitter discussion. We take a social inside look at our weekly topic. Everyone is welcome to share their social insights #TChat.

Join Our Social Community & Stay Up-to-Date! The TalentCulture conversation continues daily on See what’s happening right now on the #TChat Twitter stream in our LinkedIn group, and on our Google+ community. Engage with us anytime on our social networks or stay current with trending World of Work topics through our weekly email newsletter. Signing up is just a click away!

Passive-Recruiting

Photo credit: Big Stock Images

Company Culture: For Those About To Rock

Most companies ignore organizational culture. It’s not important to them. Business leaders have been conditioned to focus exclusively on strategy and operations, all the while hoping that a strong culture will eventually be developed once they attain success. This mindset it totally understandable… and completely wrong!

Focusing exclusively on tactical nuts and bolts will keep the company from ever achieving cultural nirvana – and companies that succumb to this small-time thinking will continue to wallow around in a malaise, constantly pushing the program or strategy-of-the-day to attain any financial success.

Rock star brands understand the difference between these two approaches and seek a higher purpose. They constantly opt for long-term sustainability of culture versus the limited focus of an annual strategy. As iconic management consultant and writer Peter Drucker once famously put it:

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Drucker was so right. Unlike processes, tools, products and strategies, all of which can be easily copied, company culture is unique. So unique, in some cases, that replicating it proves to be too hard for a competitor to even attempt. That’s the advantage. A great organizational culture provides differentiation for consumers and employees alike. And it should be hard to copy.

But company culture should not be hard to understand.

Therein lies the reason so many businesses ignore culture – they don’t understand it, so that’s where we need to start.

I define an organization’s culture as simply “a collection of individual behaviors.” That’s the purest and easiest definition I can think of to really communicate how a brand’s culture can be affected. All roads lead back to human behavior.

Essentially, culture is inherent in the behaviors of a company’s employees. Some would like to believe that the culture is defined by a set of behaviors that remain unchanged over time, but that’s simply not true. Behaviors change because people change – they come and go in a brand all the time. Culture change is inevitable. What we want is the right culture change.

Surround Yourself With The Right People And You’ll Have The Right Culture

All organizational practices – positive and negative – only exist because individuals make them happen. Therefore, employee behavior will always be home base for us as we create, maintain, enhance or even revolutionize your company culture.

Remember: culture is only as strong or as weak as the employees that collectively make up the heart and soul of the organization.

Companies with strong and anchored cultures will grow and prosper while those with weak and frail cultures will wilt and eventually die. In 2008, when I started to put my thoughts into words for my book, Culture That Rocks, it seemed to me that in the global economic downturn, the focus of many companies (other than the obvious of staying in business) was on meeting three goals:

  • Differentiated Value Proposition
  • Unparalleled Customer Loyalty
  • Strong Employee Engagement

Today these goals are still the focus of most leaders. But to get there, in many cases, they’re going to have to change some things about the company. They are going to have to make a commitment to enhancing their company’s culture. This might mean subtle changes for some organizations while others may require a drastic overhaul. Why invest in these changes? Because at the end of the day, a company’s culture contributes an enormous amount to its success.

Image: bigstockphoto.com

#TChat Preview: How To Create A Culture That Rocks

The TalentCulture #TChat Show is back live on Wednesday, July 8th, 2015, at 1-2 pm ET (10-11 am PT).

Last week, live from #SHRM15, we discussed the brilliant HR profession of today and tomorrow. This week we’re going to talk about how to create a company culture that rocks.

Because for those company cultures about to rock, we’ll not only salute you, we’ll work for you and evangelize for you. Of course that’s a reference to a classic rock song, but it’s a mantra that continues to ring true when it comes to workplace culture today.

Great “bands” and brands focus on culture first and foremost so it will drive engagement, business outcomes and ultimately success.

As our guest this week puts it — company culture is only as strong or weak as the employees that collectively make up the heart and soul of the organization.

We hope you’ll join the #TChat conversation this week and share your questions, opinions and ideas with our guests and the TalentCulture Community.

Thank you to all our TalentCulture sponsors and partners: Dice, Jibe, TalentWise, Hootsuite, IBM, RecruitiFi, CareerBuilder, PeopleFluent, and HRmarketer Insight. Plus, we’re big CandE supporters!

Sneak Peek:

#TChat Events: How To Create A Culture That Rocks

TChatRadio_logo_020813#TChat Radio — Wed, July 8 — 1 pm ET / 10 am PT

Join TalentCulture #TChat Show co-founders and co-hosts Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman as we talk about the art of candidate engagement with this week’s guest: Jim Knight, a leading training and development expert who worked with Hard Rock International for 20 years where he led the renowned School Of Hard Rocks.

 

Tune in LIVE online Wednesday, July 8th

#TChat Twitter Chat — Wed, July 8 — 1:30 pm ET /10:30 am PT Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin, and Jim will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, where we’ll continue the discussion with the entire TalentCulture community. Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we gather for a dynamic live chat, focused on these related questions:

Q1: What does a rocking culture look like? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q2: What steps can organizations take to build a rocking culture? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q3: How do organizations sustain rocking cultures? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Until then, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed, our TalentCulture World of Work Community LinkedIn group, and in our TalentCulture G+ community. So feel free to drop by anytime and share your questions, ideas and opinions. See you there!!!

Subscribe to our podcast on BlogTalkRadio, Stitcher or iTunes:

BTR stitcher_logoItunes_podcast_icon

 

 

Join Our Social Community & Stay Up-to-Date!

The TalentCulture conversation continues daily on Twitter, in our LinkedIn group, and on our Google+ community. Engage with us anytime on our social networks or stay current with trending World of Work topics through our weekly email newsletter. Signing up is just a click away!

Passive-Recruiting

Image Credit: Big Stock Images