The owner of a small company in the construction industry cornered me recently to opine on company culture because he had been hearing about my work. He practically leapt over tables at a reception to proudly declare that he does not care one bit about culture and what a waste of time focusing on it is. It was hard not to take personally his declaration of my work as a waste, but that became easier the longer he spoke. He said he does not have to do anything for his twenty-person company. His people get what they get and not one thing more. After gentle attempts to engage, it became clear he was not going to consider anything new, so I exited the conversation.

Coincidentally, just a few weeks later, a much larger construction company invited me to work on-site with a small group for three days.

The group wanted to advance their presentation skills to be sure they aligned with their brand. Everything about the three days reflected their culture. The small group talked about it, the building and environment oozed it, and the leaders who came in spoke in alignment with it. This larger company’s culture is all about their people. They are deliberate and genuine about it, and it showed in how the people spoke of their company. This company had recently been honored as a Best Place to Work, and their employees were thrilled to talk about that honor.

I did not meet the founder of the second company, but if I had, what do you think he would have said about their culture? About the people he works with every day? The people spoke highly of him and other leaders. Do you think the employees at the small company speak highly of their leader?

I doubt it. You do too, right?

The two different experiences reminded me that some people just do not get it.

Some people do not know why they should care about their people and culture. They see it as fluffy. They see it as “extra.” But it is not.

Here are five reasons to care about your company’s culture:

#1. Culture influences financial performance, for better or worse. Focus on it early and often, or you’ll spend money, time, people, and energy on it later.

#2. Insufficient oversight destabilizes cultures, which can lead to humiliating and costly news stories, missed revenue targets, loss of key employees, or trailing behind competitors.

#3. There’s no such thing as “sustainable competitive advantage” any more. There is transient advantage, which is only possible when culture evolves.

#4. Culture oversight can keep your company from buckling under the pressure of change and growth. The companies who thrived during the pandemic can attest to this one.

#5. Without understanding culture, companies make decisions that affect revenue, retention, and reputation based on biases, ambiguity, and secrets.

Our culture assessment informs leaders about their culture so decisions can be made objectively, even when it’s tough.

For example, when a technical company full of left-brain thinkers with inexperienced leaders faced a crisis of culture, they sought our guidance. One situation that tore apart their culture was that the business development leader treated people poorly without repercussions. He yelled at people and mocked people he saw as beneath him. He also lied on expense reports without consequence, which seemed to be common knowledge. The company leaders thought the issues would magically vanish because he was so good at his job. They let him behave out of alignment with their stated desired culture because he might bring in clients.

Sound familiar? When someone who is good at their job is allowed to break the rules, everyone notices and loses respect for the company. Such behavior is common in poorly performing cultures.

(As an aside, there are literally millions of talented bus dev professionals who treat people well. There is no reason to let one make a mockery of your culture and leadership. Go hire another one. There are good ones out there!)

That was one indicator about the culture of that tech company. There were others that needed attention too. Where there is one practice out of alignment with the desired culture, there are always many others.

It comes down to leadership seeing the truth of the culture and having the leadership equity and courage to do something about it. Many companies do not have leaders like that. We help grow them.

How can YOU take advantage of our expertise? Here are three (free!) opportunities for you…

• Become a Voyage VIP by clicking here. VIPs get research, strategies, networking opportunities, invitations, and discounts. Sign up!

• Join us for the executive sessions about culture. Intel from the Bridge details can be found here.

• Join the monthly conversation called Culture Matters. Culture Matters unites leaders from all over the place inside a variety of organization. All are welcome.

Join us to keep growing your culture. Continuous learning and evolving is the way to avoid becoming a dinosaur like that first business owner mentioned above.