Culture Change

A business is defined by its culture and how it does business. Some sectors are labeled by the public as having a bad culture, one that puts profit above the concerns and needs of the people they are servicing. As a business owner, you should be aware of the type of culture you are cultivating and that you have the right people working for you.

The main problem people have with jobs or businesses is the culture. You will often hear the word toxic being thrown around when someone is attacking the culture of a business. The culture of a business includes many key factors such as mission statements, employee morale and customer service interaction. Businesses that receive positive grades in the three aforementioned criteria are often some of the most profitable and popular businesses in the world. Finding a mix of the three is not an easy task, but for those that can achieve this, they will be among the top rated businesses.

On the flip-side, there are many businesses that have failing grades in one of the three categories. Some even have failing grades in two or more. These are the businesses we read and hear about on the news and in the paper. The businesses are often misguided and fall deeper into the toxic category, which nobody wants to touch. The culture of a business starts at the top of the helm. The CEO is usually the one who comes in and sets the tone and direction in which he wants the business to go.

Big businesses are often under immense pressure to fill the spot of a CEO, so they often choose someone who is not fit for that specific job. Now he might be a great fit at another company that fits his strengths, but for this job, not so much. He is now faced with the option of adopting the company's existing culture or injecting his own. Either way, a struggle is developing, which leads to bigger problems with board members, employees and most importantly, the customers.

It is important to know who you are hiring and what their plan for the company is. If we look at some of the world's biggest companies today, they are struggling to repair their reputation with the public for many reasons. Those same companies have gone through numerous CEOs in a little under a decade because of the culture struggle. Many of them are now trying to repair their reputation with the public and are diligently searching for the right candidate to properly represent their business.

The difference between having a successful global business and a business that is barely making profit is culture. In the global society we live in today, culture can no longer be pushed aside or hidden beneath big profits.