Company Culture For Dummies® Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com Copyright © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Media and software compilation copyright © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc All rights reserved Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-5724002 For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938102 ISBN: 978-1-119-45784-8; ISBN 978-1-119-45785-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-45788-6 (ebk) Company Culture For Dummies® To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Company Culture For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box Table of Contents Cover Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Part 1: Getting Started with Company Culture Chapter 1: Understanding Company Culture Defining Company Culture Approaching Culture as Your Organization’s Operating System The Best Company Cultures: Different but Essentially the Same Steering Clear of the Perks Pitfalls Recognizing the Symptoms of an At-risk Culture Chapter 2: Reaping the Benefits of a Healthy Culture Improving Key Business Metrics with Culture Tallying the Cost of Bad Culture Chapter 3: Benchmarking Company Culture Creating and Conducting Your Culture Survey Tracking Culture in Other Ways Part 2: Starting with Yourself Chapter 4: Managing Yourself Getting Yourself on Board People Do Better When You Do Better Becoming Mindful Getting Started with Self-Management Checking Your Beliefs Managing Your Time Chapter 5: Honing Your Leadership Skills Reinventing Leadership for the Modern Workplace Knowing What Great Leaders Do Serving Your People First Managing for Success Coaching for Performance Uncovering the Seven Sins of Toxic Leadership Part 3: Designing Your Culture for Maximum Impact Chapter 6: Maximizing Your Impact with Mission and Vision Clarifying the Difference between Mission and Vision Understanding the Real Purpose of an Organizational Mission Crafting a Clear and Inspirational Mission Statement Bringing Your Mission to Life Looking into Your Future Vision Drafting Your Organizational Vision Sharing Your Vision Living Your Vision Chapter 7: Setting Your House Rules: Values and Behaviors at Work Getting to the Truth about Company Values Finding the Value in Values Defining Your Organizational Values Aligning Values with Desired Behavior Drafting Your Values and Behavior Statement Launching Your Values and Behavior Blueprint Making Your Values Statement Come to Life Chapter 8: Leveraging Your Culture for Inbound Recruiting Understanding Inbound Marketing Updating the Help Wanted Sign Creating Engaging Content Managing Your Employer Brand Giving Your Culture a Home Page Watching Your Competition Employing the Entire Company as Recruiter Curating a Strong Alumni Referral Network Chapter 9: Hiring to Boost Culture Hiring to Improve Culture Fixing the Recruiting Cycle Defining Your Ideal Candidate Writing a Better Job Description Crafting the Candidate Experience Evaluating the Interview Process Making the Offer Avoiding the Most Common Interviewing Mistakes My Favorite Piece of Advice for Hiring Chapter 10: Onboarding New Hires Using Onboarding to Set the Stage Crafting a Vision for Your New Hire Experience Evaluating Your Current Process Combining Vision and Current Practices for Onboarding Success Designing the Buddy System Starting a Culture of Feedback Early Using New Hires to Recruit More Talent Chapter 11: Better Training to Improve Culture Impacting Your Culture Training Is Hard Understanding the Basics of Training Learning about Learning Making Training Successful Creating Better Training Programs Recognizing When It’s Time to Upgrade Part 4: Managing Your Culture Chapter 12: Improving Communications Communication Is the Cornerstone of Culture Addressing the Main Issue with Communication Improving Communication Enhancing Staff Meetings Helping Your Team Connect Avoiding Common Communication Pitfalls Chapter 13: Improvising Your Way to a Better Culture Defining Improv Living in a VUCA World Applying Improv to Business Chapter 14: Creating a Feedback-Rich Culture Shifting Culture Using Feedback Understanding the Four Styles of Feedback Crafting a Feedback-Rich Culture Chapter 15: Creating a Culture Pocket in the Org Chart What’s a Culture Pocket? Seeing How a Culture Pocket Makes Your Team Shine Shifts, Teams, Locations, and Departments: How to Craft Culture at Any Level Ensuring a Feedback Culture on Your Team Making Time for Your Team to Get Together Chapter 16: Producing an Inclusive and Diverse Place to Work Shifting Culture: Understanding How Diversity and Inclusivity Work Together Appreciating Why Diversity Matters Becoming Aware of the Unaware Changing Behavior Design to Create More Unifying Systems Becoming More Transparent Creating a More Inclusive Culture Making More Inclusive Decisions Part 5: Disrupting Performance Management Chapter 17: Reviewing the Performance Review Hating the Performance Review Loving the Performance Review Recognizing the Goals of an Effective Performance Review System Curating a Better Review Process Increasing Transparency in the Performance Improvement Process Chapter 18: Perfecting the One-on-One for Culture Connections Getting Started with One-on-Ones Envisioning the Ultimate One-on-One for the Employee Asking Better Questions Debugging Your One-on-Ones Supercharging Your One-on-One Platform Chapter 19: Setting Clear Objectives to Boost a Productive Culture Understanding the Link between Objectives and Culture Figuring Out Why Things Don’t Get Done Setting Up the Scoreboard Using Objectives and Key Results to Drive Culture Avoiding the Common Mistakes of Organizational Goal Setting Chapter 20: Using Recognition to Reinforce Company Culture Benefiting from Recognition Understanding Real Recognition Creating a Culture of Appreciation Recognizing Milestones Part 6: The Part of Tens Chapter 21: Ten Free Ways to Boost Your Culture Starting a Book Club Adopting a Freaky Friday Day Bringing the Services to Them Codifying Your Culture Teaching What You Know Walking and Talking Celebrating Failure Applauding Diverse Leaders Telling Stories Together Making the Suggestion Box Clear Chapter 22: Ten Ways That Job Applicants Can Read Company Culture Researching Online Recruiting Responses Marking First Impressions Noting Interview Questions Finding the Right Time and Place Investigating the Manager Relationship Talking to Other Employees Learning about Career Growth Talking about Teamwork Uncovering Potential Challenges About the Author Advertisement Page Connect with Dummies Index End User License Agreement Introduction Welcome! Nice to meet you I’m Mike Ganino, and I care about company culture It’s the only real way to create a sustainable business It’s the key to crafting a legacy worth celebrating And it’s the answer to most of what ails modern business Company culture has a positive impact on nearly every business metric from sales to innovation and from customer satisfaction to employee retention Famed business guru, Peter Drucker, is often quoted saying “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” That’s only the partial truth in my book Culture eats whatever it wants and doesn’t stop to politely ask for seconds It permeates the way your team develops strategy It defines the way you treat each other, your customers, and your community About This Book This book demystifies company culture and clearly lays out a practical road map that managers and leaders at any level can start using to enjoy some of the benefits of a great company culture Whether your title says CEO, founder, manager, director, supervisor, leader, or VP, you have the power to start improving your culture This is about changing the face of work to create a positive, productive work experience for everybody It’s not about a specific type of culture I won’t be dictating how your culture should be, but I want to help you create one that’s effective, intentional, and sustainable There’s some basic human psychology that can help you achieve those results, and I’ll share that with you While I think most organizations could benefit from ideas in each chapter, you can jump around, read out of order, and focus on what’s most important to you now Check out the Table of Contents or the Index and pick a few areas that you think need some attention in your business I’ve given you simple, practical ideas in every chapter The ideas don’t need to be executed chronologically but can be for maximum impact No matter where you jump in, you can start making changes today Culture at work is a big topic It’s about relationships, norms, and expectations No book alone could ever completely change your culture or cover everything there is to consider about culture What I’ve done is given you inroads to start thinking about how key organizational areas impact culture so you can start to unravel and rebuild Here’s the deal It’s my book, full of my ideas, and colored by my experiences It brings together twentysomething years of professional experiences from restaurants, hotels, airlines, retail, tech companies, startups, Fortune 500s, and nonprofits It’s steeped in wisdom from the people I’ve learned from, read about, and studied But it’s also based on things I’ve done, ideas I’ve executed, and models I’ve put in place — whether in my own companies or those for which I’ve consulted It’s full of fresh ideas that I share in keynotes and training workshops — ideas that clients and audiences have put into practice to bring their teams together, change performance, and boost culture There are going to be places where we disagree, where something else may work for you, and where you’re unwilling to try something out That’s okay Culture is complex Relationships are complex And there isn’t a one-size-fits-all model I’ve tried to give you room to test, analyze, milestone celebrations, 338–339 new employees, starting with, 337–338 overview, 331 personal wins, celebrating, 338–339 public appreciation, 335 showing work, 336–337 thanking others, 333–334 types of recognition, 332–333 work anniversaries, 339 recommendation program, 45, 152 recommendations, customer, 19 recruiting See also hiring applicant assessment of culture during, 354–355 brand, managing employer, 145–146 careers page on website, 146–149 changing landscape of, 135–139 company culture, effect on, 22 competition, keeping up with, 150–151 culture pockets as attracting talent, 255 current employees as recruiters, 151–152 diversity, improving, 265, 276 engaging content, creating, 139–145 former employees as recruiters, 152 inbound marketing, 134–135 inclusivity in, 278–279 new hires, using for, 191–192 overview, 133–134 tracking where talent is coming from, 137 referral program, 45, 152 referrals, customer, 19 regular feedback, 250–251 relationships benefits of mindfulness for, 55 benefits of mindfulness for, 55 building, 249 critical commitments of managers, 79–80 one-on-one meetings, discussing in, 311 relation to feedback, 244 religion, influence on personal values, 66 Remember icon, explained, requirements, for candidates, 161–162 research on culture, by applicants, 353–354 resources, role of culture pockets in getting, 256 responsibility for change, taking, 51–52 restaurants, impact of culture on, 18 resumes, blind, 269 retailers, impact of culture on, 18 retrospectives, employee-generated, 141 return-on-investment (ROI), 19 review forms, 296–297, 298 review portion, staff meetings, 223–224 review systems, online culture dashboard, 43–44 recruitment, enhancing, 22 reviewing employer brand on, 138 reviews, performance See performance reviews risk, organizational values as reducing, 119 ROI (return-on-investment), 19 rotating leaders of meetings, 279 round-robin feedback, 280 rules, in best company cultures, 13 S safety company culture, effect on, 26–27 in feedback culture, 249, 260 sales, effect of company culture on, 19–20 sandwich method, feedback, 250 saving, effect of company culture on, 20 scaffolding knowledge, 204 scheduling See also time management in buddy system, 189 employee events, 277–278 social media posts, 144 scoreboards boosting productivity with, 322–324 for staff meetings, 223–224 scoring culture survey, 33 screening applicants, 164–165 search, assessing employer brand with, 139 self-awareness, 51–52, 53 See also self-management self-care, 60–61 self-improvement, 310 self-management beliefs, checking, 72–78 defined, 59 effect on others, 53 emotions, recognizing, 61–62 energy, managing, 70–71 future story, crafting, 68–70 getting yourself on board, 51–52 intentions, getting to know, 62–64 mindfulness, 54–59 overview, 51 self-care, 60–61 time management, 78–81 values, living, 65–68 self-reviews, 294–295 senior-level executives See management servant leadership, 87–88 service, customer See customer service services, providing in office, 346 shared documents, 335 sharing company culture manifesto, 63–64 culture content for recruiting, 144–145 culture survey results, 35 future story, 70 mission statement, 107 updates, 320–321 vision statements, 113–114 short-term goals, 329 showing work, 336–337 #showyourwork sessions, 228 signature section, company email, 144 skills, relation to feedback, 244–245 sleep, in self-care, 60–61 SlideShare platform, 142 Snapchat, 143 social connections in employee opinion survey, 46 in onboarding, 177, 185 social media communication through, 229 in competitive analysis for recruitment, 151 distributing culture content on, 144–145 employee takeover events, 141 employees as recruiters on, 151–152 employer brand, assessing on, 138–139 employer-generated content on, 142–143 new hires, using to recruit via, 191 offer letter, links to in, 171 solution-oriented feedback, 91 specific feedback, 91 spending, effect of company culture on, 20 staff meetings See also one-on-one meetings all-hands, 226–227 appreciate section, 225–226 components of good, 222–226 daily, tips for, 223 ending with recognition, 334–335 identify section, 225 inclusivity in, 279–280 launching mission statement at, 108 launching values statement at, 129–130 listening section, 224–225 non-inclusive behavior, calling out, 278 in onboarding experience, 181 overview, 221–222 review portion, 223–224 scheduling, 81 transparency in, 274 weekly, improving, 222 “yes, and …” culture at, 238 statements, role in improvisation, 239–241 status updates, in one-on-one meetings, 313 staying in touch, recruiting by, 137, 149 stories employee, on careers page, 148 employee, recruiting through, 136 for mission statement, 101–103 for onboarding vision, 179 one-word-at-a-time, 239 values, 121, 129 storytelling events, 349–350 strategy, vision statement use for, 114 strengths, in values and behavior statement, 126 stress, benefits of mindfulness for, 55 structured interviews, 269–270 structures See also diversity; onboarding; training in company culture, 8–9 role in culture pockets, 259–260 subjective performance reviews, 271 success of ideal candidates, clarifying metrics for, 158–159 managing for, 88–90 measures of, for future story, 69 vision statement, defining for, 110–111 suggestion box, 350 Survey Monkey, 30 surveys See also culture survey; employee opinion survey customer-based, 32 employer brand, 138 on onboarding of new hires, 178–179, 190–191 systems See also diversity; onboarding; training in company culture, 8–9 role in culture pockets, 259–260 T table read, company culture manifesto, 64 talent, attracting See recruiting talent retention See also employees company culture, effect on, 17, 20–22, 25 role of training in, 194 talking during one-on-one meetings, 314 in training process, 202, 212 targets, financial, 18 See also business metrics affected by culture teachers, influence on personal values, 66 teaching sessions, 337, 347 teams See also culture pockets applicant assessment of culture, 358–359 common purpose, creating, 318–319 diversity, effect on, 265–266 one-on-one meetings, discussing in, 311 updates on goals, sharing, 320–321 technical skills, exploring in interviews, 165–166 technology communication through, 229–230 first day checklist, 184 mindfulness, tips for, 59 onboarding, organizing with, 190 terms, in offer letter, 170 test sample pre-interview, 269 text messages, overuse of, 230–231 thanking others, role in leadership, 90 thank-you notes, 333–334, 335 theater, improvisation in, 233–234 30-day check-in, 186 thought leader group, 141 360-degree reviews, 290, 293–294 time blocking, 80–81 time frame, vision statements, 110 time management critical commitments, 79–80 during interviews, 162 one-on-one meetings, 305–306 overview, 78–79 time blocking, 80–81 Tip icon, explained, to-do lists, 80, 329 top-five lists, employee-generated, 141 top-tier leadership See leadership; management toxic company culture examples of, 24 expenses, effect on, 25 overview, 24 recognizing, 14–15 toxic leadership, 92–93 training See also onboarding ability, measuring, 203–204 basics of, 197–201 defined, 198–199 designing better programs, 205–211 difficulty of, 196–197 versus education, 200–201 essential five programs, 208–211 versus facilitating, 199–200 impact on culture, 193–195 versus instruction, 199 learning about learning, 201–202 motivating change, 204–205 in onboarding, 184–185 overview, 193 principles of, 205–208 recognizing need to improve, 211–212 scaffolding knowledge, 204 structuring, 207, 208, 209 successful, 202–205 transition-back-to-work program, 275 transparency of culture surveys, 37, 38, 40 diversity efforts, role in, 272–274 in one-on-one meetings, 314 in performance improvement process, 300–302 trial shifts, working, 165–166 tribe, sense of, 21 trust, relation to feedback, 244 turnover, learning from, 44 U Uber, 24 uncertainty, as cause for improvisation, 235 unconscious bias behavior design to reduce impact of, 268–272 origins of, 267 recognizing, 267–268 uniforms, 276 updates on goals, sharing, 320–321 useful feedback, in performance coaching, 90–91 V vacuum, creation of, in toxic leadership, 92 values, organizational aligning with desired behavior, 123–125 behavior, defining with, 124 common themes, identifying, 123 in company culture, 8, 115–117 as creating brand, 119 in culture pockets, 258–259 defining, 120–123 group values session, 122–123 for ideal candidates, 159–160 importance of, 116–117 leadership as defined by, 118 management, role of, 121–122 objectives related to, defining, 104 in onboarding, 179, 185 overview, 115–116 as reducing risk, 119 training regarding, 209–210 values and behavior statement, 126–131 values interviews, 120–121 values, personal of management, 121–122 origins of, 65–66 overview, 65 translating to company culture, 66–68 values and behavior statement bringing to life in organization, 130–131 collecting feedback on, 128–129 example of, 127 launching, 129–130 organizing information for, 127 overview, 116, 126 revising, 128–129 writing, 126–127 values interviews, 120–121 videos keeping communication flowing with, 229–230 launching mission statement through, 109 recruiting through, 137, 143 for sharing values and culture with new hires, 185 storytelling through, 148 using new hires to recruit via, 192 welcome, 182 vision creating clear, role of manager in, 89 for culture pocket, 257–258 vision, for onboarding experience combining current practices with, 182–187 crafting, 178–180 evaluating current process, 181 vision statements drafting, 110–113 editing, 112–113 finalizing, 113 as future vision, 109–110 living vision, 114 versus mission statement, 98 in onboarding experience, 185 overview, 97 sharing, 113–114 time frame for, 110 wins, defining, 110–111 writing, 111–112 volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) situations, 234–235 Volkswagen, 24 voluntary training, 212 volunteering importance to buddy system, 188 with team, 262 Volvo, 119 VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) situations, 234–235 W walk-and-talk program, 347–348 Warning icon, explained, webinars, 337 websites careers page on, 136, 146–149 inclusivity in design of, 275 weekly staff meetings, improving, 222 Weinzweig, Ari, 52 welcome kit, 181, 182 welcome video, 182 wins defining for vision statements, 110–111 personal, celebrating, 338–339 women See gender issues word-of-mouth marketing, 19, 140–142, 151–152 work, exploring beliefs about, 72–73 work anniversaries, celebrating, 339 work environment, in employee opinion survey, 46 work sample pre-interview, 269 workshops employee opinion survey, 47–48 objective-clarifying, 103–105 story-gathering, 101–103 workspace, setting up for new hires, 182 world events, influence on personal values, 66 written content employer-generated, for recruiting, 142 keeping communication flowing through, 229–230 using new hires to recruit via, 192 Y “yes, and …” culture, 237–238 Z Zappos, 23 WILEY END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT Go to www.wiley.com/go/eula to access Wiley’s ebook EULA ... easy-to-use overview of the big ideas behind company culture, check out the Company Culture For Dummies Cheat Sheet at www .dummies. com by entering Company Culture For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the search... (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-45788-6 (ebk) Company Culture For Dummies To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www .dummies. com and search for Company Culture For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search... Getting Started with Company Culture Chapter 1: Understanding Company Culture Defining Company Culture Approaching Culture as Your Organization’s Operating System The Best Company Cultures: Different