You're A Culture Setter, Not An Acceptor
If you want to build a world-class company that runs like a well-oiled machine, you have to set culture proactively. You are the culture setter, not a passive acceptor.
Your goal can't be trying to build rules and policies around the weakest links on your team. When you set the bar at the lowest common denominator, you sacrifice your highest potential. The more you optimize for the least capable, the least driven employees, the more you strangle your ability to truly excel.
This may sound harsh, but it's the reality I've seen play out over decades of operating businesses. You cannot afford to have an "inclusive" culture that accepts mediocrity if you want sustainable growth.
The Consequences of Weak Culture
Maybe you've been there - you start making exceptions and accommodations for a few underperformers, figuring no harm. But then over time, the low-bar becomes the norm. You end up with:
- Employees just coasting, perfecting the minimum viable effort
- Constant complaints and pushback when you try to level-up expectations
- A inability to attract or keep top talent as they see the low standards
- Mid-range performers deflating to the path of least resistance
- A brand identity of mediocrity that's impossible to shake
Pretty soon, a culture of apathetic underachievement has infected your entire organization. You'll find yourself just HOPING people will occasionally go the extra mile.
I've seen it destroy countless companies from the inside out. It's a pandemic that only strong antibodies can prevent from the start.
Setting a Clear, Niche Culture
Here's what purposefully setting a strong culture looks like:
First, your culture needs to be niche and specific. It won't be for everyone - and that's the point. Get crystal clear on your standards and expectations, write them down in detail, and broadcast them loudly.
Be prepared for some critics and some people to leave. That's perfect - it's them self-selecting out because they don't fit. The trade-off is you'll start attracting more and more top-tier talent energized by your culture.
At my firm, our culture is built on:
- Relentless problem-solving instead of excuse-making
- Proactively identifying and resolving issues before they're fired
- Working smarter and more efficiently, not harder and dumber
This recruits a certain type of motivated, solutions-oriented employee with brilliant pattern recognition and workflow enhancement skills. It repels those looking to just work their set hours and check boxes.
What does your niche culture prioritize? Get specific and shout it from the rooftops.
Outputs Over Optics
Next, the culture you set must prioritize excellence based on outputs, not inputs like hours worked. This was the fatal flaw of previous generations - they set crazy expectations around face time and overtime, not actual performance.
Your standards need to be based on metrics that truly drive profitable growth:
- Customer service and retention metrics
- Production efficiency ratios
- Quality and re-work percentages
- Cash flow and profitability ratios
- Continuous improvement and innovation
Hours are inessential - it's what people achieve that matters. Ditch this antiquated obsession with input and judge people solely on their output. Those who can't reach your bar of excellence will quickly become obvious.
At our manufacturing plants, we don't care if team leaders are the first ones in and last to leave. We care about:
- On-time delivery percentages
- Minimal re-work and re-makes
- Machinery uptime and output volumes
If they hit those marks through a 4-hour work day, more power to them. Measure outcomes, not theater.
The Self-Selection Effect
From there, you allow self-selection to run its course by enforcing your culture aggressively. Don't hesitate to part ways with those who can't or won't raise their output through:
- Lack of skills (and refusing additional training)
- Lack of effort
- Unwillingness to ask questions and solve problems
- Having an overinflated ego
This self-selection is one of the biggest benefits of setting culture purposefully. You force people to sink or swim according to your raised bar. Those who can't cut it will self-remove through either their choice or your enforcement.
Sounds tough? It should be. You're building a finely-tuned machine for accelerated growth, not running an unfocused operation.
But here's the payoff: Top performers who fit your culture will be hardwired to flock to your company once your reputation for high standards spreads. You'll have to turn people away.
<span id="yellow-highlight" class="rte-highlight" style="background-color: yellow;" fs-test-element="highlight">The more clearly and consistently you reinforce your culture through action, the stronger that culture becomes</span>. You start building a powerful team that actively enhances and lives that culture.
At the plants where I'm most hands-on, team members get bonuses when they improve their cell, beat a goal, or make the plant better. We prioritize this not just to check a box, but because improving efficiency and reducing waste is baked into our cultural identity.
Aligning How You Hire and Fire
Once your cultural standards are locked, you tailor your HR approaches around that filter:
Hiring? Ensure you have a custom multi-step hiring process focused on assessing cultural fit as the top criteria. Technical skills can be taught, but lacking the drive and problem-solving mindset means they'll never stick.
Firing? Don't hesitate to cut someone loose who actively defies or subverts your culture. They'll only spread negativity and complacency if they stay. Have a consistent rubric so it's an impartial, culture-based decision.
Promotions and growth opportunities become based on cultural embodiment too. The path for getting ahead is by living your company's core identity.
Shaping Your Company's Identity
No more coddling the least capable. You set the tuning from Day 1, and you set it high. Then you reinforce the tune through:
- What you prioritize in processes and policies
- How you structure compensation and advancement
- The people you bring aboard
- The examples you set as a leader
Your company's culture is the master script directing all those decisions. When your team understands the script and sees you following it dogmatically, they will too. Toxic cultural deviations get stamped out before they fester.
If you want to accelerate your growth and build a world-class operation, you need to become a culture setter obsessed with purposeful reinforcement. It's never too early to start.
