Fixing Company Culture

That was the phrase used by the owners when they hired us.  The first day resulted in a keen awareness of the culture when we were cussed out and told by a mid-level employee that “you don’t know who I am – you better be careful”.  It was a toxic culture that had been birthed by the sibling owners who had created silos of rival employees.  If you supported one sibling, then you better not support the other sibling.  The main office was like an LA street grid of lines that you didn’t cross, lest you fall into the area of the rival gang.  Imagine employees that enjoyed the personal tragedies of fellow employees that were from the other gang.

 

The measurements of success in this gangland office environment was the proximity of your car to the entrance door.  Fights and arguments in the parking lot were commonplace and accented with vandalism for not adhering to the rules of appointed importance in the cultural order that was created by a person’s assigned parking space.

 

The truth about culture is that it stems from the top.  The most talented consultants, COO’s, CFO’s, etc. can have an impact on the culture (both positively and negatively); however, the long-term maintenance of a company culture emanates from the Owner/CEO/President.  If there is not a commitment at the top to fixing and building a championship culture, it may improve with constant effort, but it will never be sustained.

 

The solution was to reduce the number of owners, break down the barriers of the gang member mentality, replace the most troublesome members of the staff and rebuild the culture under the remaining shareholder.