Where does culture come from?
by Miki SaxonImage credit: scol22
I read an interesting conversation engendered by a post entitled You don’t create a culture over at Signal vs. Noise.
Jason posts, “You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior… Real cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth… 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.”
He says, “Artificial cultures are instant. They’re big bangs made of mission statements, declarations, and rules.”
But in the comments, Dorai Thodla points our that, “Culture 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.”
Articulating it should include writing it down, so that it can be accurately shared with current employees, new hires and candidates, but that doesn’t mean it’s carved in stone. It needs to be flexible, breathe and grow, while staying true to the original core values.
Jason likens culture to patina because it takes time to develop, but patina stays on the surface whereas culture needs to be absorbed like stain.
Like many competent people, Jason seems unaware of his own role, but no kind of culture or cultural traits “just happens.” Whatever the culture becomes, it’s based on the top person’s MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) and what that person enables to happen—whether actively or through benign neglect.
Do great cultures “just happen?” What do you think?
