{"id":3970,"date":"2019-09-10T16:31:27","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T20:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ingage.net\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2023-08-16T15:10:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T19:10:25","slug":"guest-post-culture-whats-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ingage.net\/guest-post-culture-whats-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Culture, What’s Culture?"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Guest Post<\/p>\n

By Bob Dearing, CFE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin by defining what culture is. There are literally hundreds of different definitions, but let\u2019s start with a very simple one:<\/p>\n

Culture refers to the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize an organization or group and define its nature.<\/em><\/p>\n

Culture is not the sole property of the business world! It exists in families, social clubs, organizations and neighborhoods. Even your Saturday-morning golf foursome has a culture. Different cultures surround us every day. In any organization, culture tends to take on a life of its own that can range in intensity from positive to toxic, from low-energy to electric.<\/p>\n

For our purpose we will focus on the various aspects of culture in the workplace.<\/p>\n

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Bob Dearing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Where Does Culture Come From?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most people believe that as companies develop and grow, culture flows from the top down. In some stages of company development, that is true. The problem is that over time, if not closely monitored, culture can deteriorate and damage the brand.<\/p>\n

In the early stages of your company\u2019s life, you can guide culture by communicating a clear vision, mission and set of values. As your company matures, however, culture becomes more a result of what has taken place; people have come and gone, priorities have changed, market conditions are different and as a result your culture has become an outcome<\/em> of those events.<\/p>\n

\"\"Where Do We Begin Creating Culture?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a starting point, every company should have written Vision, Mission and Value Statements. If you do not have them written, they are of little to no value to the organization. These documents form the bedrock of your business culture but more importantly, they contribute to a healthy cultural environment.<\/p>\n

Culture is not a theoretical process. It is an outcome. <\/em>Gino Wickman, in his book Traction<\/em><\/a>, crystallizes the areas of these events into six core components. These are Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process and Traction. All are important but for our purposes we will focus on just four:<\/p>\n