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Culture by Design, not by Accident

You’ve researched your market, refined your strategy and you spend your life trying to generate sales. But have you even thought about your company’s culture? If not, your company will never reach its full potential – and may not even have a future at all.

Here are 5 ways that creating a great corporate culture can ensure success.

A company with a great corporate culture has clarity of purpose.

A company with a great corporate culture is authentic.

A company with a great corporate culture has resilience.

A company with a great corporate culture is adaptable.

A company with a great corporate culture executes its strategy with excellence.

Start creating your optimal corporate culture today. A culture designed by you, to meet your needs – not one that has developed by accident. Click the button below to download our free guide to developing the optimal culture for your company.

Take Our Quiz to See what sort of Culture Your company Has

This short quiz is a bit of fun with a serious purpose. It's not 100% accurate, of course, but it should give you some insights into what sort of organisation your company is - or what sort of organisation you want it to be. Answer a few simple questions about how your organisation operates (or how you would like it to operate) and we will tell you which archetype it best fits. Enjoy the quiz.

1 / 10

If an employee breaks the rules, what excuse is most likely to get them forgiven?

They broke the rules to do something extra for a customer

They were behaving in line with the company's founding principles

They broke the rules to make an extra bit of profit

They broke the rules to try to make the company's product work better

They broke the rules to score some points against a competitor

2 / 10

What is the key investment needed to grow your company to the next level?

Investing in whatever will beat the competition

Investing in further product development

Expanding the sales team and improving the customer experience

Improving your purchasing power and investing in more inventory

Investing in staff or equipment that will advance the company's mission and raison d'etre

3 / 10

If a new customer makes a difficult request, what is your reaction?

You will help the customer if it makes commercial sense – e.g. if you expect them to become a very profitable account

You will help the customer if it allows you to demonstrate how great your product is

You will only help the customer if it improves your competitive position – e.g. if it is a prestigious account that competitors would love to land

You will always bend over backwards to do everything you can for customers

You will help the customer if they share your principles and your overall world view

4 / 10

Who are your most valuable employees?

Those who show the greatest commercial acumen

Those who do the most to advance our company's mission

Those who compete hardest against our competitors

Those who provide really great customer service

Those who are behind the development of our really great product(s)

5 / 10

What information does your management team always ask for before making an important decision?

An assessment of how it will affect customers and the customer experience

How it will impact your company's mission

How it is likely to impact profitability

How it will affect your competitive position

What the impact will be on product delivery

6 / 10

What is most likely to get praise, a promotion or a bonus in your company?

Making a significant improvement to your product or service

Making an unexpected extra profit

Going “above and beyond” for a customer

Finding a way to beat competitors

Advancing the company's mission

7 / 10

What key metric is the most important for your Management Team – the thing they are obsessed with?

Progress towards meeting the company's key mission

Feedback on how well your product or service is performing for customers

Customer satisfaction data

Performance versus competitors

Profitability

8 / 10

If you are hiring a new junior employee who you hope will learn the business and will go on to make a big contribution to the company in the future, which candidate would you be most impressed by?

The one who shows great interpersonal skills

The most ambitious candidate

The one who shares the same passions as most people in the company

The one who displays the greatest commercial acumen

The one who shows genuine interest and passion for your product and/or sector

9 / 10

Who, out of the following, is the most powerful/influential figure in your company [If the CEO plays several of these roles, choose the one that is most important to the CEO]?

The person who drives the company’s competitive strategy

The person responsible for sales and customer relations/customer experience

The Chief Engineer/Chief Technician or whoever is responsible for the maintenance, development and production of your core product(s)

The person who ensures that the company stays focused on what it was founded to achieve

The person who is seen as mainly responsible for driving profitability

10 / 10

Who is the ideal person to lead your business?

A highly commercial person, such as an accountant or a former banker

Someone who really understands the customer base

Someone who is passionate about the same things that people in the company are passionate about

A technical person who knows everything about the company’s product

Someone who understands the competitive landscape and how to survive and thrive against strong competition

Culture by Design, not by Accident

Download Our Guide to Managing Culture

Take Our Quiz to See what sort of Culture Your company Has

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