#61: The importance of company culture
And some photos from my visit to Prague
Hey friends,
Welcome to the 61st edition of the “Level Up Ladder” newsletter.
1/ Some updates from my side
It’s been a busy week; it’s probably the busiest week I've ever had, to be honest.
Last weekend, I participated in the second part of the “Managing Cultural Diversity” course. I learned about some very interesting topics that I will explore with you in the following newsletters.
I spent most of my free time this week writing for the individual project for my “Corporate Strategy” course, and I finally submitted the paper yesterday, on the last possible day.
It’s titled “AI and Automation as Drivers for Tax Technology in Deloitte Tax Romania,” and I’ve spent more than 30-35 hours writing it. However, it made me understand how important it is to analyze and understand the status quo of a company before you can come up with some viable strategic options.
I had to work on the thesis on airplane rides and airports as I was in Prague for a couple of days this week, meeting with my regional peers at Deloitte and discussing strategies for the next financial year. (By the way, I am writing this newsletter on the plane back).
I will land in an hour or so, go home, pack, and go to Bulgaria for a wedding before coming back to Bucharest in two days and flying to Amsterdam. I told you it’s going to be a busy week.
I almost forgot how beautiful Prague is, as I hadn’t visited it for more than 10 years, I guess. Deloitte’s office is also something else, and it has a lovely terrace overlooking the old town. I met my colleagues in person after more than half a year and we made plans for the future. We ended the day with a lovely 3-course menu at a steak restaurant. In an era where more and more people are working from home exclusively, we tend to forget the importance of face-to-face meetings and how efficient they can be in the grand scheme of things. We probably discussed more topics and solved more issues in one day of meetings in person than in six months of weekly meetings.
2/ How important is a company’s culture?
Very important.
If you were only looking for the answer, you can stop here.
If not, let me dive into this.
When we want to change jobs, let’s say, we take a lot of things into consideration:
Salary
Benefits
Work-life balance
Potential for growth
How many days do we need to be in the office?
ETC
But more often than not, we don’t take into consideration one very important aspect: the culture of that company.
Before you blame yourself too much for this, you’re not the only one.
For example, around 50% of the failed mergers & acquisitions fail because of differences in culture. I guess that’s what happens when the numbers look fine, right?
But what is culture?
A company’s HR would say that a company’s culture is its mission and its values.
But it’s much more than that.
A friend of mine once told me that “culture is the way you feel on a Sunday evening knowing that you have to go to work tomorrow morning.”
And I guess that’s a lot more accurate than some sentences on a wall.
Culture means the unwritten rules of collaboration. The way a company does interviews. The way they handle promotions. And so on.
A startup will usually have a clear and defined culture.
For example, everyone knows that Netflix hires only the best people, and they pay them way above market ranges.
I don’t know if everyone knows that people at Google can dedicate 20% of their time to come up with ideas that are not directly related to their field. That’s how Gmail and Google Glass were invented.
When a company grows, it’s getting harder and harder to maintain a cohesive culture. Especially when it becomes a multinational with a presence in many countries. As you might expect, nationality affects the perception and culture of people significantly.
Ok, so culture is important; we understand that now. But how does this information help?
If you’re about to get hired, search the company’s culture.
Even before you go to the interview, talk to people, search online, and find out more about the company. How do they handle layoffs? How diverse is the workforce? Was the company involved in any scandals?
Knowing this will help you understand if you are a good fit or if you need to stay away from that company.
Ask questions about the culture in the interview.
Connected to the first point, the best way to learn more about a company’s culture is through the people who work there. Usually, each interview ends with some questions from the candidate. Use this time to understand how they handle things that might be important to you.
If you have a team, implement a subculture.
Managers are a part of a company’s culture but that doesn’t mean they can’t create a subculture that better suits the team’s profile. For example, “psychological safety” was deemed by Google as the most important characteristic of a high-performance team. As a leader, make sure your team feels safe and they can come to you with any problem or suggestion they have, without the fear of being reprimanded. You could also make sure you create a culture of trust, by making sure you follow through on your promises and so on.
If you have the ability to change the culture, do it.
Not many people can change or develop a culture. This is only possible if you are an entrepreneur or someone in the CEO position. That’s what Satya Nadella did when he became CEO of Microsoft in 2014. I won’t go into the details of how he transformed the company but the main point of this transformation was to change the way the company behaved, from a “know it all” to a “learn it all”, greatly influenced by the “growth mindset” principle from Carol Dweck’s bestselling book, “Mindset”.
Report when the culture goes bad.
Last but not least, report to HR and to your superior when you see a breach in the culture. I know some people will be afraid to speak up because they will be reprimanded. This alone should make you question the company’s culture.
See someone being bullied, report it.
Your company has a culture of innovation, and your manager dismisses all your ideas. Report him.
Work-life balance is one of the values and you constantly work 12-14 hour days? You know what you have to do.
3/ Recommendations
How to start a movement by Derek Sivers
On why it’s important to get some early adaptors on board fast.
Lex Fridman Podcast: Kevin Spacey, Power, Controversy, Betrayal, Truth & Love in Film and Life
A great conversation between the best podcaster and one of the greatest actors of all time.
One punch man
One of my favorite anime shows is back on Netflix for a second season. It’s one of the funniest animes I’ve watched.
Thank you for reading, and let me know if you liked something in particular in this newsletter.
I hope you have a great weekend, friends!
Leo
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