Make Your Company Culture Your Adam: Don’t Leave It Up To Chance
Do you remember in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where Victor goes off on a rant about how beautiful this creature he was creating was going to be; how every piece of flesh was the best that he could find, creating a marvel for his own eyes to feast upon as he worked on becoming the closest thing to God his world had ever seen?
Do you remember how despite the effort put into creating the creature, Victor rejects him after realising the mistakes he had made by bringing his plan to fruition? And the resentment that the creature has saying that he “ought to be [Victor’s] Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel”?
As ridiculous as it may sound, company culture can end up the same way. Just as Victor did, you may find yourself striving to compile the best elements in order to create this idealised version of your company, but, if it is rejected, you will find yourself in a situation similar to Victor’s; in a sense, having a company culture that you resent as much as the employees do.
Nobody wants to find themselves the victim of a company culture that didn’t deliver on the promises it makes. How many times have prospective employees asked about what your company culture is like, and you’ve panicked and said what you think sounds the best, and most appealing to your candidate? Probably at least once, right? That’s okay, but you need to make that company culture that. If you want a sunshine and rainbows company, you have to dispel the storm clouds that may hang overhead, to give the sun a chance to shine.
In 2011, Jay Wilkinson hosted a TED Talk where he explained how he has honed his own company culture. In which, he explained that you cannot leave your company culture up to chance, if you don’t strictly lay out what you wish to achieve, how you wish to implement it if things need to change etc. and regulate your work environment, your company culture may go from Adam to “the fallen angel”, with the workplace instead mirroring the outlooks and attitudes of the most vocal member of staff in the workforce.
He said as follows: “building a company culture is not about free soda in the breakroom it’s not about putting food out on the table so people feel like you’re giving them these friend benefits. It’s not about that at all. Building a company culture is about building a team of people who are committed to the same purpose, the same passion and the same ideals and building a company culture is something that is possible if you’re really focussed on doing all those right things. And it has a huge ROI” (Return of investment)
Therefore, it is similar to Victor creating the creature; a sense of omnipotence over this being that you have made with your own two hands. You have created this perfect idea, this perfect concept, this perfect creature. You have crafted what you consider perfection, the ideal, Adam.
Efficiency? Adam. Communication? Adam. Desirable? Adam.
By being able to create the culture yourself, even if it is through observing your workers, and working out what values they have and how they reflect upon your workplace, that is the process of creation. Rome wasn’t built in a day! You can and will find the best way to explore how to improve the way your employees see the workplace, how your employees regard themselves and their role, and how the world sees your company, in a way that makes it your Adam. Your perfect specimen.
Based in London, U.K., and founded in 2016 by Arvind Mishra The Agile Works (www.TheAgileWorks.com), is an up-and-coming recruitment and Agile consulting company. Arvind is a Certified SAFe SPC and regularly delivers both private and public SAFe certification workshops.
He is a design thinking expert, Sr. enterprise, portfolio Agile Coach with over a decade of experience working as an Agile coach in diverse industries such as banking, pharma, retail, auto, oil, gas, consulting and government.
The Agile Works; a small team of three strive to help shape the leadership's mind-set and values in readiness for their business transformation journey challenges. With Arvind at the helm, we strive to provide you with the agility tools to make your company that can thrive, and not just survive.
To book a consultation, or for any enquiries, you can contact Arvind via the following email address: arvind@theagileworks.com
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