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Add a 6th Rock: Company Culture

May 29, 2019

Your cul­ture is so pow­er­ful that it actu­al­ly helps employ­ees decide to stay or resign. Are you and your cul­ture worth stay­ing around?” — Jim Collins

A great part of the method­ol­o­gy we use for the strate­gic plan­ning we reg­u­lar­ly do, for grow­ing com­pa­nies around the world, is to have a vision for the com­pa­ny, long- and short-term goals, and quar­ter­ly deliv­er­ables for both the com­pa­ny and its key leaders.

And we’re lucky to work with com­pa­nies over 5, 10 or 15 years to see how their plan­ning and exe­cu­tion evolves and where it falls short.

One of the big areas that needs atten­tion is around cul­ture. When a com­pa­ny starts a plan­ning process, peo­ple get excit­ed about their vision, pur­pose, core val­ues and cul­ture, and enthu­si­as­ti­cal­ly set BHAGs (Big Hairy Auda­cious Goals, as Jim Collins calls them).

But over time, com­pa­ny cul­ture fades into the back­ground and quick­ly becomes wall­pa­per, as the focus turns to pro­duc­tiv­i­ty – and then we won­der why peo­ple don’t want to stay. In the end, the own­er or founder doesn’t like what the com­pa­ny has become.

As a com­pa­ny grows, the key is to con­tin­u­al­ly sculpt the cul­ture into what you want it to become. You can put any group of peo­ple togeth­er but if they don’t have com­mon thread sewing them togeth­er, they’ll pull apart and go off in their own direction.

Come Alive Every Quarter

It’s not rock­et sci­ence – it’s about pay­ing atten­tion and doing some­thing new or dif­fer­ent to breathe life in the culture.

Jim Collins’ research con­firms the val­ue putting some extra ener­gy into remind­ing peo­ple of the val­ues and pur­pose of the orga­ni­za­tion. So, I sug­gest adding to your five quar­ter­ly plan­ning goals with a 6th Rock to breathe life into your culture:

  • It could be shoot­ing a video of peo­ple engaged in fun activ­i­ties together
  • Or ask every­one to read an arti­cle that rein­forces your Core Val­ues, then get togeth­er to talk about it
  • Cre­ate a Core Val­ues award to rec­og­nize peo­ple who exem­pli­fy them
  • Get out and do an activ­i­ty together.

And there’s a hun­dred oth­er possibilities.

It’s about being think­ing, con­vers­ing and relat­ing to each oth­er around the most impor­tant prin­ci­ples of your business.

By the way, one of the worst ideas is the poster. It becomes wall­pa­per in a few hours or days and does nothing.

We have end­less ideas from the hun­dreds of great exam­ples we’ve seen over the years, so if you need help, let us know.

The Chal­lenge

If a great com­pa­ny cul­ture is an impor­tant part of your strategy…

  • What have you done to rein­force it in the last 90 days?
  • How can you make sure cul­ture stays a part of strate­gic plan process?

About Lawrence & Co.
Lawrence & Co. is a growth strategy and leadership advisory firm that helps mid-market companies achieve lasting, reliable growth. Our Growth Management System turns 30 years of experience into practical steps that drive clarity, alignment, and performance—so leaders can grow faster, with less friction, and greater confidence.

About Kevin Lawrence
Kevin Lawrence has spent three decades helping companies scale from tens of millions to hundreds of millions in revenue. He works side-by-side with CEOs and leadership teams across North America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe, bringing real-world insights from hands-on experience. Kevin is the author of Your Oxygen Mask First, a book of 17 habits to help high-performing leaders grow sustainably while protecting their mental health and resilience. He also contributed to Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0). Based in Vancouver, he leads Lawrence & Co, a boutique firm of growth advisors.