Barry Beck, honored by his alma mater with the Cornell University 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year Award, is the founder and CEO of the digital health company Evenly Technologies. His track record of start-up entrepreneurship includes Bluemercury, which rose to become one of the most innovative and profitable beauty products retailers in the country before its 2015 acquisition by Macy’s.
His pursuit of business success is balanced by the joy he cultivates in creating forward-thinking companies, grounded in a strong ethical base and a cohesive corporate culture.
The leader’s role in developing culture
So how does an entrepreneur grow a strong company culture from Day One?
It’s important to note that a company’s culture doesn’t develop out of nowhere. Either an entrepreneur works with intention and focus to create a culture that exemplifies his or her values, or random aspects of culture simply accrete over time, based sometimes on nothing more than chance, habit, or the dominant personalities of a few team members.
It’s the job of leaders to articulate, cultivate, and reward the culture they want to see. It’s not a one-time task either. Leaders must continually reinforce the culture to ensure that employees at every level of the organization learn its values and consistently put them into practice.
Without a strongly defined culture, a company can’t set goals and formulate the strategies required to reach them. It also won’t be able to count on its team to execute effective strategies, because there won’t be a baseline set of principles to serve as guidelines.
What is culture?
In many respects, culture is even more important than strategy. Culture is the driving force, backbone, and essence of a company. It’s the unwritten set of norms, attitudes, expectations, and perspectives that form the basis for the day-to-day decisions and actions each employee makes. Smart entrepreneurs realize at the outset that the time and care they spend nurturing and directing their company’s culture will produce significant return on investment.
Employees sense the presence of their company’s culture most strongly through its mission statement and values, the way it shapes performance evaluations, how major decisions are made, and through the ways the company recognizes achievements and celebrates milestones.
Some helpful tips for leaders who want to build a strong organizational culture from the very beginning include:
1. Start with respect
Every strong company culture is anchored in respect. Indeed, multiyear research published in the MIT Sloan Management Review found that respect is 18 times as important as other cultural elements (like benefits, perks, and job security) in predicting the strength of a company’s culture. It’s important to be sure that employees consistently feel their company’s leadership is listening to them, staying open to their ideas, and providing the sense of psychological safety necessary for them to offer constructive criticism in the first place.
When a company’s leaders exemplify the value of respect, rather than simply paying lip service to it, they earn the trust of their team. This puts the company in a position in which bigger and better ideas can thrive, and where the team develops the determination needed to develop those ideas and bring them to market.
2. Intentionally define mission and values
Over time, any team or organization that works together will naturally develop shared norms and values. However, you want your company’s culture to be intentional. A company must take the time to think through and define its vision and mission, and commit to the values by which it intends to operate. Leadership retreats, employee brainstorming sessions, and consistent communication across hierarchical barriers can establish a sense of collective ownership and responsibility as a company develops these core principles.
3. Live those values
When a company’s leaders personify and live its key values every day, this effort can be incredibly powerful. Many employees are suspicious—in many cases, rightfully—about the commitment their leaders have to the company’s values and ideals. When leaders pay lip service to these values, but their actions show their real priorities, employees can lose trust in them. A founder can ensure that his or her leadership team is more likely to live the company’s values by training for empathy, communication, and the ability to inspire.
4. Communicate early and often
A company stands or falls by its communication. Clear, consistent communication ensures that all members of the team understand a company’s culture. It means that everyone is on board with the company’s vision, mission, direction, and brand identity.
Make sure all new hire materials contain clear statements about company culture. Consider publishing a regular company newsletter or short update that links ongoing challenges and successes to these cultural values. Use every available channel of communication to share stories of individual achievements in line with the culture. And at times when crisis communication becomes necessary, use the crisis as a moment of opportunity to re-articulate mission and values, thus centering the team on managing through the challenge together.
5. Invest in and empower the team
Recognizing and celebrating employees’ successes is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for building a strong company culture. It’s also vitally important to invest in the team’s continued success through education, training, and support for wellness and personal growth. The best company cultures—the ones that attract and retain top talent—offer some degree of flexibility in scheduling to support work-life balance. They also offer a variety of meaningful ways for employees to engage with the company, boost their professional skills, and enhance their mental, physical, and emotional growth.
6. Encourage collaboration
Build a framework of collaboration and normalize cross-departmental conversations. This will accelerate idea formation and innovativeness, as well as foster greater company-wide productivity. In addition, the stronger relationships that develop through collaboration will help to further maintain company culture.
There are a variety of team-building activities that can help here, but collaborative virtual and physical workspaces are also key to success. Optimize projects and project management platforms to support company-wide collaborative work.
Culture takes time
Considering the seven tips above can help you start building a strong, productive company culture. Keep in mind that this process doesn’t happen overnight, and that it’s not a “one and done” endeavor. A positive culture grows and changes over time—it requires tending and attention. However, by prioritizing respect, collaboration, communication, and diversity, and by being intentional about mission and values, living those values, and empowering the team, entrepreneurs can build a company culture of which they can be proud.