When I interviewed Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, I asked him what companies can do to reconnect to their employees; what do they needed to focus on. He answered with one word: culture.
I’ve been thinking about that answer since he provided it. At first I was shocked that he didn’t have more to say; however I now understand why he didn’t say more. If you focus on company culture, or organizational culture as the books call it, everything else falls into place.
The Wikipedia definition of organizational culture is, “an idea in the field of Organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization.”
In his presentation at the BIG Summit in Orlando (slides here), Tony told the audience that culture was the #1 priority at Zappos, and therefore as the CEO, building that culture is the most important activity he does. Every part of the hiring process, from being picked up at the airport and interacting with the driver, to going out with the crew at the end of the day, provides indications of whether or not a potential hire will be a good fit.
For companies that have lost the connection with their employees, where people are seen as resources rather than people, a complete refocus on the company culture is needed. The first step is to determine what the core values of the organization are. Tony said that it took Zappos close to a year to determine this. As CEO he didn’t figure it out by himself though. They solicited the feedback of all of the employees, asking them what they felt were the core values. They incorporated all of the feedback along with their own thoughts and created a list of 10.
You may have more or less. The point is to make the list, and then ensure that everything you do, every decision you make, every employee you hire, fits in with those core values.
Does your employer focus on company culture?
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