Today, I would like to share with you what I believe every business or organisation needs to know about culture. Of course, there are many ways to look at this topic and much has been written, so here we are going to explore what are the most important things to think about or focus on that are within your control. We can’t control the marketplace and nobody saw a virus coming that impacted our whole world, they are things out of our control. What are the things that any business CAN control.

What does it take to launch a successful start up?
What does it take to grow beyond feast and famine?
What does it take to scale through adversity?
What does it take to make sure you don’t plateau and get stuck there?

In a word, culture. I’m not talking about beanbags, pool tables and thumping music, I’m talking about what really matters personally and professionally.

Let’s start with the professional side. This, I believe, can be summed up in three words; Mission, People, and Culture. Do you have a mission that you and everybody around you believes in, no matter what happens that’s out of your control, even if it’s a pandemic. Are you hiring the right people – I’ve written about this topic extensively here: How to get recruitment right and Getting the right people on the bus so I’ll simply say, your people, including yourself, are the core and foundation of every business or organisation, no matter it’s size or age. Until you have the right people, and your people are in the right place to grow and change, your business cannot adapt and scale.

Do you have a winning culture? I’m not talking about doing more, more leads, more sales, more customers, more time back, more money etc etc. I’m talking about that feeling of winning that everybody strives for, whether they know it or not, when you feel like you’ve done better today than yesterday. Is your pathway and purpose clear, do you know why you are doing what you do, and do you know how to make it better. Do you genuinely look forward to engaging in a productive workday. More on this here: Better before Bigger

When your mission is clear and you live it every day, you are hiring the right people because you can, not because you must, and you have a winning culture, you have the seeds of success. Like any seeds, you must continue to water them, feed and nurture them so they can grow strong roots that cannot be blown over in the wind, or affected by things out of your control.

Let’s dig a little deeper into winning.
Winning is something we talk a lot about in business, but it’s not all about making more money, of course, increasing revenue is important, but it’s not the only thing. Winning may be the feeling you get when you are making better appointments, not just closing the deal. It may be the feeling you get when you save some time for a customer, it may be a new initiative, product or service that’s making people think about your brand. Whatever the win is, you must continually define and develop it because if you don’t, someone else will, whether that’s a team member defining their own win, or you just going through the motions having lost sight of your purpose. More about Purpose here

What I see happening, especially in the early years of a business, is the beginnings of a sales culture where it’s all about gaining more customers and getting bigger. Where the only focus seems to be on revenue. If that’s not happening, then the perception can be that you’re not winning as a business. You can begin to think that if you have money coming in, then you know you’re growing. Everything feels good because you feel like you’re winning the business game. Then, at some point, you’re going to hit a plateau that you just cannot cross, that you just cannot seem to move beyond.

It feels like somebody just pulled the plug.
Even though the organisation is successful, revenue is increasing and the team is expanding, it still feels like you’ve reached a plateau you just can’t seem to break through. Why? Because winning has become about growth. By re-defining the win in terms of culture, you will be able to move beyond your plateau.

How to scale beyond your plateau.
Many years ago I remember a conversation I had with my coach, and it had such an impact on me that it’s something that has stayed with me, and a principle I share with you here.
I started my first business way back in the 90’s, and despite challenges and setbacks, it grew. We gained more customers, closed more sales and continued to grow – all good right?

Because I had done what most do, ie. closing more sales, growing the team because of demand and overcoming challenges when they occurred, winning became all about growth. What happened then, which is easy to see now I look back, was that sales plateaued. What I mean by that is that you cannot increase your sales beyond your capacity, that’s why I hired more people. I call it “Time Limited Turnover” or the second entrepreneurs see-saw.

I remember the day vividly when my coach said to me “How tall do you want your children to be?” All I had done up to then was focus on growth and at some point growth plateaus. Once your children have grown as tall as they are ever going to be, you have to work out how to multiply and scale.

Whatever your industry, business or organisation, whatever size, age or stage you have reached, figuring out how to create a culture that’s winning, and continually redefining the win within the rhythm of your business, is the key to your future success. If it’s all about more sales (or anything else that’s taking you away from culture), then when sales plateau, it can feel like something’s wrong. How do you avoid that. How do you continue to add to the income component at the same time as creating a winning culture.

If you are now, like I was 20+ years ago, you may well be struggling with this idea, especially in your busy world. Let me say that it can be too easy to over-complicate your business journey, after all, there are so many people all saying different things, offering advice and telling you what you should and shouldn’t do. Simply this; do what you feel is right, then make it better. Have a compelling mission that you and your team believe in (culture) and your customers engage with, and work hard to make the world a better place. Hire the right people, not because you have to to fulfil demand, but because you are planning to.

Finally, get some help, the best help you can afford. The support and help I had in the early years gave me many ‘light-bulb’ moments, creating a winning culture was just one. What else is there that you could be taking advantage of if only you knew.


Work with me:
I help owners, founders and leaders create a scalable business that works without them, build a world-class team, and 10x profitability. Book a call with me here to see if we could work together.

Remember, there are only three types of people – those who make things happen, those who wait for things to happen, and those who talk about why things don’t happen for them. Which one are you?