Great culture is about values, not fancy offices, free food, perks, etc., because, done well, it provides a blueprint for any worker faced with making a decision.

Great cultures don’t happen by accident or benign neglect, nor do they grow organically.

They are the result of focused thought, intentional design and, focused effort.

They are sustained through exceedingly careful hiring and the willingness to walk away from a candidate whose values aren’t compatible.

For great insight into building a values-based company read this interview with John Montgomery, founder of Bridgeway Capital Management.

The investment industry is known more for its greed than its social sensitivity, but Bridgeway has been making waves for more than 20 years by giving 50% of its profits to charity and capping top salaries.

Montgomery’s approach has been profitable, as well as a talent magnet and retention tool.

John, you founded Bridgeway Capital Management 22 years ago and your firm grew to manage billions in assets. Many people are drawn to your firm because you are values-driven, and your website says your core values are: ‘integrity, performance, efficiency, and service’. What does it mean to live these values? (…)  “We’re not trying to create golden handcuffs to keep people in place. We’re trying to create an amazing place to work where people can provide investment advisory services and give back at the same time. On my team — the investment advisory team — we’ve lost one portfolio manager or researcher in 20 years.”

If a culture built around ‘integrity, performance, efficiency, and service’ can propel and sustain a company in an industry like financial services where talk is cheap and talent is supposedly focused only on what’s in it for them, think what strong values can do for your company.

Image credit: Dave Gray

Early last year I wrote, “Wealth addiction isn’t a case of wanting to get rich; it is a case of nothing is enough.”

From the outside, Mark Cuban is a good example. He considers the slightly-over-$30K gets per episode for Shark Tank too low, which makes one wonder what he gets to act like a fool in that (IMHO) stupid AT&T commercial.

He certainly doesn’t need the money, so why do it? Is it simply wealth addiction or something else?

Most likely something else.

The paradox of success is this: The mental wiring that enables a person to claw to the tippy-top of Corporate America or sports or entertainment or any other field that offers vast wealth is the same mental wiring that most of the time leads people not to retire before they have to — no matter what the diminishing marginal utility of money would suggest.

But there are those similarly wired for success who manage to miss the addiction and sidestep the paradox.

Four recent, high-profile examples are Patrick Pichette, the 52-year-old chief financial officer of Google, Patrick Willis, 30, a San Francisco 49ers linebacker, Jason Worilds, a 27-year-old linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers and 26-year-old Jake Locker, a Tennessee Titans quarterback.

These four are great proof that neither mental wiring nor predisposition eliminate choice.

Because it’s your mind, which means it’s under your control.

Image credit: DonkeyHotey