The foundation of your business’s success begins long before you launch your product, land your first client or, in my case, open your first consulting firm. It starts when you decide who you want to be, why you should exist and what you will believe and do as a company. When I decided to pursue my dream, I sat down with a pen and a pad of yellow paper and tried to articulate the answers to these existential questions, which became the pillars of our company culture for
nearly 10 years now.
Who are we?
Define the characteristics and qualities you want your people to embody and the service or product they’ll deliver. This may take introspection if you’re just starting a company or rebooting your culture. By asking these hard questions and discussing the answers collaboratively with your team, you will arrive at an answer that everyone can stand by.
What do we want to be?
Every company needs a word or phrase describing what it will become. Is it the best in category? Is it the low-price leader? As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said, "Begin with the end in mind." You can’t know what you want to be until and unless you have envisioned it.
Why are we in business?
List the reasons you want to be in business. What drives you? Is it profit? Passion? Toms Shoes is probably better known for its One for One philosophy than for its shoes’ style or comfort. Founder Blake Mycoskie is driven by making sure that every person in the world who needs a pair of shoes has them.
What is your role?
Think about a common role that every single person on your team can and should play, then teach them, show them, show each other, how it’s done. Our employees, ultimately, have the same role: to make fans of everyone we interact with.
What’s our goal?
Summarize your business goals with a simple statement that motivates your associates every day. For us, it is "to be better today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow than we are today."
Once you’ve answered these questions, the next step is "how." How are you going to achieve the culture, concepts and philosophies you’ve set forth? Have fun, be brutally honest, work hard at it every day and it will become as natural as the air you breathe.
