What makes a “winning entrepreneurial culture”? If we look at Fortune’s Magazine the list includes health care, child care, work/life balance, tele-commuting and unusual perks. Upon further investigations from other sources including AMEX Open Forum the list expands to include these specific categories:
- Leadership (more importantly authentic leadership)
- Communications (Open Door/No Door Policy)
- Innovation
- Living The Company’s Values and Mission
- Employee Empowerment & Sense of Autonomy
- Fosters a Work Environment of Fun & Creativity
- Flexible Work Schedules
- Commitment to Personal Growth
- Community Spirit
- Great Pay & Incentives
Let’s look at some of the categories in more detail.
Authentic Leadership
Who wants to follow someone who is wearing a mask? Employees who can trust and respect their employer, leader, manager or supervisor is more likely to be happier at their job. What I’ve discovered upon the various interviews and research that was conducted was the level of true admiration these employees had for their leader. It doesn’t mean that employees agree 100% with everything that was being implemented. However, the winning culture had employees who respected their leaders’ openness as well as their willingness to show their vulnerability.
Communication (Open Door/No Door Policy)
If you want to know the number one thing that will stop a company from growing fast and really dominating their marketplace; it would be poor communication. The companies that we studied not only have an open door policy; many of them have a no door policy. What is a no door policy? A no-door policy is when upper management is actually out on the floor with their employees and there are no offices. If you visit Zappos, you will find Tony Hsieh and other top executives’ desks right in the middle of the office (they affectionately call it “Monkeys’ Row”).
How can you tell if companies have an open line of communication? It is quite easy to identify. Take a visit to your company’s lunch room, cafeteria, water cooler, coffee area or employees’ break room. What is the vibe when leadership walks in the room? Does everyone remain laughing and conversing or do you find the room becomes so quiet that you can hear a pin drop?
What about your company meetings? Are your employees open to share their thoughts good, bad or indifferent? Great companies not only remove the barrier for having open communication, they reward and encourage it via social media, intranet, companies meetings and other platforms.
Living the Company’s Values and Mission
Having a mission statement, guiding principles and values are great, however if no one knows what they are – what’s the point? The companies that have raving fans as employees, vendors and customers are the ones who know how to make their mission come to life, while making their core values actionable on a daily basis.
Fosters a Work Environment of Fun & Creativity
Many years ago I hear a great salesperson say to a prospect “Life is too long to be doing something that you don’t love.” What a powerful statement especially when most of us are thinking about how short our time on this earth is; imagine how long our time is when you are doing something that you hate. Companies like Southwest, Google, and Infusionsoft fosters a work environment of fun and creativity. Foosball, ping pong tables, scooters to meetings, volleyball or basketball courts may seem like it’s a waste of money, when in fact the opposite is true. By creating an environment that people can’t wait to come to work and they also hate to leave generates huge dividends while increases your profit margin.
Great Pay and Incentive
It is also important to note that companies who are ranked as the best places to work, also are companies who value their employees enough to pay them well and incentivize them for a job well done. Receiving verbal recognition is nice, however, if your employees are not making enough to pay for their living expenses, the praises will become short-lived.
These are just some examples of what the top companies are doing to create a winning culture.
Jaime says:
Truly believe in everything that was stated and echo the sentiments. The lack in any one of those areas can foster an atmosphere of disloyalty with the absence of transparency. Who wants to work in an environment like that day in and day out. Thank you for sharing these important lessons!
Rae Majors-Wildman says:
You totally get it Jaime! Our workforce is so different from the times of old. To gain employee loyalty, today’s company must show that they actually care about those who come to work for them.