Part II: Processes and People
In a previous blog, we discussed business culture and the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, one of the most successful organizations in the world. Many attribute this to the All Black ethos they’ve developed over nearly 150 years. As we discussed there, “culture” gets thrown around a lot in today’s business world, and sometimes the process for building business culture is oversimplified.
Organizational culture is hard to create and even harder to leverage into success. It cannot be created in a conference room laboratory, imposed from C suite onto rank-and-file, and then executed as if reading off battle orders. All the resources in the world can’t superimpose a successful culture onto an environment that doesn’t want it or believe in it. In many ways, whether you study a model like the All Blacks or one like the Toyota Way, much of culture comes down to two things: process and people.
Plan for Process
You know the deal because you’ve heard it about one thousand times. Get your processes down. I know that you are putting out fire after fire in your business, and so it may take some time. But nailing down those processes will free up your time, help with developing employees, and give you peace of mind knowing that everything isn’t stuck in your own head (or that trusted employee or two).
Another highly successful athletic “culture” is the one established by Nick Saban at Alabama. Famously, Saban always preached “process” over product, refusing to praise his teams for slaughtering the opponent if he thought their own process was flawed. He knew that tougher teams and tighter situations awaited. For him, the important part of what they did was not the product on the scoreboard. It was the process they followed during the off-season, camp, season, and week to get there.
Many resources exist on how to organize your processes. Something like Systemology can be very useful for business owners as a mechanism to help with this effort. Do some research, and start small if you need to. Ultimately your goal is to sharpen your processes so they can be replicated and refined, improving your outcomes and efficiency.
Best People, Right Place
Almost every business owner knows that hiring is among the most frustrating boss activities out there. Organizations with healthy culture always emphasize hiring and retaining the best people. But what does that mean – best people? Most productive? Easiest to manage? Easiest to get along with?
The All Blacks “No Jerks” policy is not unique, and many variations of this concept exist in healthy business cultures across many industries. What does this kind of practice look like played out in SMBs?
Don’t Waste Time on Employees that Don’t Fit
Now, here, by “jerk,” we may not necessarily mean diva. That personality exists in many spheres, of course, but you may not be dealing with a “diva” personality or even a “mean” one. You might be simply dealing with a very “high maintenance” employee.
If you must perpetually waste your valuable time handling this employee, you need to consider whether they actually fit your business culture. They may be (and usually are) highly competent at particular skills – sales or service – or they have hunkered down in your organization for a long time and have deep knowledge that would be hard to lose.
But maybe you are constantly handling interpersonal conflict caused by this person. Maybe clients complain. Maybe they aren’t productive in how they talk about the directions of your business. Maybe they are nice, but they simply aren’t performing to the level that you need. Maybe they refuse to dedicate themselves to getting better in those areas you need them to.
If they are costing you time and stress, and if they refuse to change, you might be better off without that person in the long run. And this will be especially true if you are running your decision-making through the lens of “what is best for my company’s culture?”. Find employees that fit what you want to do and are willing to be team players (easier said than done, I know).
Cohesion, Not Charisma
Popular perception is that personal charisma is a necessary part of leadership. In reality, charisma is typically inborn and not learned, and even so it is not necessary for successful organizational leadership. A successful business culture focuses on effective, clear processes and getting the right people into the right spaces. These are not easy tasks, but the cohesive culture that comes as the result means greater possibilities for your business.