STEVE JACKOWSKI

fr.stevejackowski.com (site en Français)

  • Life & Work
  • Novels
    • The Swimmer
    • The Misogynist
    • The 15th Juror
    • The Shadow of God
    • The Silicon Lathe
    • L'Ombre de Dieu
    • Ethics
  • Blog
    • Electric Vehicles (EVs)
    • France
    • Personal
    • Sports
    • Startups
    • Work in Progress
    • Writing
  • Reviews
    • The Misogynist
    • The Shadow of God
    • The Silicon Lathe
  • Picture Gallery
  • Contact
  • Work in Progress

Preserving Startup Culture

3/27/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
A good friend of mine is an HR specialist and is considering going to work for a startup that just received a large round of funding.  The company plans huge growth in the coming months and they'd like to have an HR person help them preserve their startup culture as they grow.  Unfortunately, I don't think this is possible. 

As companies grow, they change.  Any culture that existed at the beginning must adapt to the changing environment.  It can't remain the same.  If it did, the company would stagnate.  So ultimately, the goal must be to help the culture evolve.

In looking at the problem, the first question is: what is this company's culture?  After all, you can't preserve or evolve something unless you know what it is. 

Most of the time, 'culture' is just a feeling.  With any luck, a startup feels exciting.  The team feels committed.  The management and the team feel connected - there is open communication among everyone.  Everyone feels they're pulling together for a common goal.  People feel they can work hard and still have fun.  They feel rewarded through recognition, and perhaps through compensation.   But is this the culture?  Or are these feelings the result of the culture? 

Related to the culture of a company are its customs.  Maybe it's a custom to celebrate a new contract, project completions, birthdays.  Perhaps it's a custom for the CEO to hold weekly all-hands meetings with open discussion allowing questions and suggestions from anyone.  Or maybe one of the company's customs is to share in the company's financial success through bonuses or a company-wide adventure.

The reality is that once a company grows, particularly if it grows quickly, and even more so if outside investors become involved, the customs will have to change and many of those good feelings may change as a result.  Celebrating every birthday with everyone in the company will likely become impractical.  So too with new contracts and project completions.  Even the all-hands meetings will have to change.  There's only a finite amount of time available and if there are lots of questions and suggestions, it's unlikely everyone will be heard.

And then there's the money aspect.  Outside investors are going to be looking closely at financial results.  They will likely argue for more reinvestment into the company, its marketing, product development, and expansion, and may want to reduce those bonuses or company-wide adventures.  They may even want to cut back on the toys, free drinks, and meals that made it easy to work ridiculous hours.

What's the result?  People are going to feel less connected.  Then they'll feel less committed.  They won't work as well together, and it won't be as much fun. 

So how do we preserve the culture?  We don't.  We protect the roots of the culture.  These are the company's values.  They need to be identified, codified, and regularly reiterated to the entire team.  Years ago at IBM, it started with 'Respect for the Individual'.  It was simple, but went much deeper into the company than might seem obvious.  This was followed by the reminder on most everyone's desk: THINK!  IBM grew consistently and maintained the culture of Big Blue. 
But let's come back to those feelings that constituted our startup culture:

  • Excitement
  • Team Commitment
  • Open communication 
  • Pulling together for a common goal
  • Work hard, and have fun
  • Individual and team recognition
It seems to me that these can become company goals and values.  Different companies will approach them in different ways based on the CEO's philosophy.  As a company grows, the customs that support them will have to change but the core values don't have to.  Birthdays, project completions or new contracts might be celebrated in the responsible groups.  The CEO might conduct smaller group/team meetings to get more personal feedback than can be realized in an all-hands meeting.   Working hard and having fun may mean offering more flexible time or telecommuting.  Continue to recognize accomplishments and you  will motivate  individuals and teams.   

Above all, the CEO must foresee impending changes to the culture and customs, discuss them with the team, solicit feedback, and explain the realities of the changing environment.  S/he  must continually reiterate the goals and direction of the company and show how current tactics are going to help achieve them. 

Company culture can evolve if core values are protected and if the team understands the reasons for change.  Knowledge leads to understanding.

Eliminating Performance Reviews
Money and Motivation
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Steve Jackowski

    Writer, extreme sports enthusiast, serial entrepreneur, technologist.

     
    Check out my latest novel!
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Electric Vehicles (EVs)
    France
    Personal
    Sports
    Startups
    Work In Progress
    Writing

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2022
    June 2022
    October 2021
    June 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013



Proudly powered by Weebly

BACK TO TOP

Plain & Simple Web Design © 2013