CREATING CULTURE
CREATING YOUR ULTIMATE CULTURE
BY DESIGN , NOT BY DEFAULT
BY : ERIKA MACLEOD
RRenowned thought leader Jack Daly is a valued contributor and friend to Tulip Media . Jack ’ s philosophy about company culture is that it ’ s either created by design or by default . In other words , you either make it happen or it happens on its own .
Jack illustrates this point using a gardening metaphor . Your organization begins as an open field , blank and ripe for new growth . With a little fertility , something is bound to grow there whether you plant it or not . Your choice is whether you let the field be overtaken by weeds or take the opportunity to cultivate a beautiful garden that grows your organization from the inside out .
The fate of your ultimate culture will be determined entirely by the time and effort you put into cultivating a garden and nurturing what you ’ ve planted . If you want to sow the seeds of an organizational masterpiece , you ’ ll need to be ready to put in the work .
You cannot simply sit back and wait for your ultimate culture to grow on its own . If it were this easy , everyone would achieve it and there would be no real reward . In reality , taking a hands-off approach will quickly lead to a field full of weeds ( or an organization fueled by negative culture ).
The deciding factor in creating your ultimate culture by design or by default is the action you take to consistently nurture your organizational environment .
This isn ’ t going to be a one-off transaction where you plant the seeds of your ultimate culture and walk away . Oh no . Once you ’ ve cultivated your culture , it ’ s your responsibility to follow up with the task of nurturing it every day , helping positive elements to flourish and weeding out any traces of negativity .
In order to reap ongoing benefits from the fruit and flowers in your garden , tend to your garden , your ultimate culture , daily . Make sure all of its needs are being met and all of the weeds are being uprooted before they become bigger problems .
If you choose to do nothing , the weeds , or negative culture , will take this opportunity to wreak havoc on your organization . It doesn ’ t matter whether you ’ ve left the field blank and open to begin with or if you ’ ve already planted a beautiful garden filled with fruit and flowers and walked away . Any time you walk away from your garden , negative culture has the chance to set in .
Nurturing your ultimate culture garden is important , and it needs to be done every day . Make time daily to give your garden some water , or kind words , and assess your plant health , or check in on employee behavior . Maybe you ’ ll need to add a little bit of fertilizer , or incentive , and pull a weed or two , or eliminate toxicity . All of this quality care needs to be given to your garden all of the time to maintain your ultimate culture .
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