A good example is always the “Googleplex”, with features such as a strictly primary coloured campus, sculpture gardens and leisure facilities demonstrating the cultural cultivation which has elevated Google into the stratosphere of software and one of the world’s most aspirational companies to work for.
The thing I have learned at IBM is that culture is everything – Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. former CEO IBM
Advertising agencies have long been known for colourful cultural environments but this becomes even more useful for companies who offer services not easily differentiated in the mind of customers or prospects, such as software development, data, management or financial services. Even medical companies, NGOs and associations can benefit from paying attention to culture.
“Our only competitive advantage is culture, this is because a strong culture allows us to attract and retain the best talent, which is the only real currency for success in our line of business. ” David Fisher, chairman, Capital Group asset management.
An article by Torben Rick from SupplyChain247 states that “while many studies show a direct correlation between a healthy, productive culture and a company’s bottom line, the majority of companies spend little time thinking, let alone doing anything about this topic – even when they’re spending lots of time thinking about their business strategy.”
Business leadership and management consultants suggest that intangible assets such as brand stories, founders’ personalities, symbols and practices can contribute to an organisation's cultural DNA.
Creating... culture... is like gardening... This is why we use the phrase “growing your culture” — so that we can remember it’s an organic process. Elearningindustry.com
3 ways a Biz Office can “hothouse” company culture
Step 1: Sow the seeds
In business, symbols and marks are the seeds of culture cultivation. If you look around every office has them from logos and livery to iconography and branding, office colour codes, dress codes, postal codes, worthy causes, partners, diversity policies, people and even the office mascot can be your organisation’s YOUnique DNA, ideal for Biz Office cultivation.
Step 2: Water and weed
After sowing the seeds, it’s time to invoke other gardening metaphors such as nurturing, fertilising, staking, embedding etc. In management speak these can translate as mentoring, motivating, implementing the necessary structures and systems that, as with any cultivation, will require both time and constant attention to achieve the desired outcome yields. Sharing your approach to these will position your company like a Google.
Step 3: It’s harvest time
A Biz Office is where your company’s attention to culture cultivation bears fruit. The place where your faces and spaces, vision and values are guaranteed centre stage and front page status.
The beauty of a Biz Office on Bizcommunity is it’s two-way nature, providing climate controlled conditions for culture and capabilities on the inside and the transparency to ensure these assets are seen and admired from the outside, the ultimate business “hothouse”.
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