How do you create an organizational culture in a company?  I’ve been asked this question a lot over the years.  I’ve written about organizational culture but I’ve never written about how you “create” organizational culture.  That’s what this piece is about – creating culture.  In this piece, I’m going to give you my perspective based on my personal experience and observation.  Although these aren’t your experiences – I recommend you consider them and take from this perspective those things that resonate with you and will help you create your own organizational culture.  If you are not the “boss,” consider how these themes may apply in your department of the company.  The concepts can apply on a micro level as well as a macro level.

In all my reading about organizational culture, I’ve never seen it explained the way I experienced the process.  I believe that organizational culture is created through three primary phases:  Organizational “traditions” lead to organizational “core values” which lead to organizational “culture.”

The traditions of a company (or department) are where things begin.  Although you can have healthy traditions or unhealthy traditions, I’m going to refer to the healthy traditions of an organization. Traditions tell us who we are as a tribe.  They tell us what is important to us and how we implement them within the organization.  For me, in the establishment of BNI, those traditions included things like a focus on relationship building, education, accountability, recognition, and of course – Givers Gain^® (to name a few).  Each of these items (and more) were the traditions that were inculcated throughout the program in the beginning.  By making them such an important part of the company – they ended up becoming some of our organizational core values.

Core Values of an organization are the fundamental beliefs and guiding principles that dictate behavior and help people better understand expectations within the organizational context.  For BNI, those core values included the five items above (education being changed to life-long learning) as well as positive attitude and traditions + innovation.  Yes, I included traditions in our core values as I realized that traditions are critical to the ongoing success of an organization because they anchor us in the things that create great experiences.  At the same time, I understood that innovation was key.  Traditions tell you where you come from and innovation tells you where you want to go.  I felt both were important for the success of the company. 

Traditions lead to core values and core values lead to an organizational culture.  Consequently, the core values that are acted upon within an organization (or local unit… in BNI, a chapter), directly impact and create the culture. 

To me, the creation of culture is pretty straight forward.  Understand the healthy traditions of an organization.  Then practice and implement the organizational core values like a zealot.  Be a fanatic about sharing them, discussing them, implementing them and writing about them.  When you do these first two things well, you create an amazing culture.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast.  If you are part of an organization with a great strategy and a marginal culture, you’ll struggle.  If you are part of an organization with a marginal strategy but a great culture, you can do well.  However, if you are part of an organization with a great strategy and a great culture you will be an industry leader.  Culture is the secret sauce for organizational success.

If you want that kind of success for your organization pull out the material that talks about your organizational core values (if you don’t have them, think about your traditions and start to establish core values from them) and put them into practice as though your business depended on it (and by the way – it does). 

I travel often, speaking to business professionals about networking. When traveling, especially internationally, I try very hard not to forget important items I need for meetings or speaking to groups of people . . . but I admit it’s hard to remember everything.

An international magazine interviewed me recently on this topic. The reporter asked me, “What should business people think about taking with them on business trips that they might not normally think about?” This list would benefit anyone, so I’m sharing it here.

First, a few somewhat obvious things that can certainly come in handy:

1. Plenty of business cards. It is never a good idea to run out of business cards while traveling. Tuck extras in your suit pockets, wallet/purse, briefcase and luggage.

2. A name badge. If you do any networking while traveling on business, have your own professional name badge. Don’t rely on the hosting organization to do your name badge.

3. Extra pens. Make sure you have a pen with you. I always find that I need to write some reminders down while I’m talking to people. It’s troublesome to track down a pen while you are busy networking.

Somewhat less obvious things:

1. The contact information (or business cards) of all your referral partners. I sometimes find that having that information at my fingertips allows me to give referrals to people while I’m out networking.

2. Hand sanitizer. I know this may sound a little bit like “Mr. Monk,” the germaphobe title character of a television series. However, since I’ve started using hand sanitizer after shaking many, many hands, I’ve gotten far less colds than I used to get. Just be tactful about the way you use it. Don’t desperately and obviously spray your hands every time you shake someone’s hand.

3. Breath mints. As obvious as it may sound, I can assure you from experience that many people have no idea they need them.

4. A memory stick. Many times I have either needed to get a copy of something or give a copy of a file to someone. Having a memory stick handy has been very helpful on several occasions.

5. Tools for your business. For me, that includes many copies of my bio for introductions whenever I speak. Despite that my team sends the bio in advance, there are many times when I arrive and they don’t have it handy. Another tool for me is a PowerPoint remote clicker. This is important because I don’t want to rely on someone else to move the slides forward as a I present. Also, you know that memory stick I mentioned earlier? I have copies of my talks on there just in case it’s needed.

When I asked some colleagues and other business travelers what they would add to the list, they added some that I hadn’t thought of:

1. A phone charger. I agree heartily, especially seeing how much these items cost in an airport, or in another country. And you certainly won’t want to forget your laptop power cord – besides being expensive it’s often impossible to be able to get the right one easily, if at all.

2. Power adapter/converter. Though it’s usually easy to pick up a “universal” adapter at airports or stores in heavily populated areas, in this electronic age you would hate to need one and not be able to find one, so it’s best to have one (or two) packed and ready when you need it!

3. The right clothes. Most of you have experienced differences in temperature or weather from one town to another, so you can imagine how different the conditions could be across the country or around the world. It’s never been easier to plan what clothes to bring, thanks to online weather forecasts for every region of the earth. Of course, there are no guarantees where weather is concerned.

4. A good book. Hear, hear! Those airport layovers, delays and long flights can seem even longer without something interesting to read.

There are certainly more items to include, but the above can certainly make or break an important business trip. So you definitely do not want to forget them.

What do you take along that is not on this list?

On January 17, 1994, at 4:31 a.m., Southern California experienced one of the largest earthquakes ever felt in the region – the Northridge Earthquake. 

I lived in Southern California at the time and I experienced this earthquake firsthand.  It startled me from my sleep like it did millions of others throughout the state.  It lasted almost 20 seconds and produced a ground acceleration that was the highest ever recorded in an urban area in North America at that time.

What followed after the primary quake were two huge aftershocks measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale. This was the first earthquake to strike directly under an urban area of the United States since the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake.  Damage was wide-spread: sections of major freeways collapsed, parking structures and office buildings collapsed, and numerous apartment buildings suffered irreparable damage.

One day later, on January 18, I showed up for a BNI meeting very near Northridge, only to discover that the restaurant the chapter was meeting at had been condemned the night before because of severe earthquake damage. 

I got there early.  The president was there.  We assumed that very few other people would show up; however, one by one – every single one of the 30 BNI members drove into the lot.  Since they couldn’t meet inside, they all stood in a big circle in the parking lot and held their meeting.  Except, this meeting was different.  The President went around the ad-hoc circle and asked everyone to share how they were doing and what they were grateful for after the big quake. 

It was an incredible experience to watch so many people support each other in a way that had nothing to do with business but everything to do with our core values in BNI.

They wrapped up the meeting by sharing their referrals and requests for assistance after the quake.  Those more fortunate willingly volunteered to help those who were more greatly affected by the earthquake.

But the most touching part of the meeting was when everyone met in the center of that circle to comfort each other and give each other hugs in the parking lot of that small, condemned coffee shop. 

The outpouring of support and love was incredible.  I could only watch in awe as I witnessed the true power of the relationships created in BNI.  It was Givers Gain in action.

My experience that morning is indelibly etched into my memory, and it will be for the rest of my life.  BNI is so much more than referrals, and if I ever doubted this before that day, I have never doubted it since. BNI is about relationships.  It’s about being there for one another.  It’s about the things that happen when people truly get to know each other and trust each other. 

I feel honored to be a part of this organization. Because I believe that BNI is more than a meeting – it’s a way of life.  

We don’t teach networking in colleges and universities hardly anywhere in the world — we didn’t when I went to school, and we still don’t today.  I meet so many entrepreneurs who are hungry to learn how to network effectively.  Many things about networking are actually counter-intuitive to what business people may actually think.  So – how do entrepreneurs learn?  Other than through trial and error, I recommend finding someone who can mentor you on how to network effectively. 

 Recently, I had someone ask me four questions about this process.  Here are the questions and my answers to them.

1. Who should your mentors be, and how do you find them? 

First you need to determine your values (they can be aspirational values – values that you are striving to achieve), or they can be values that are clearly part of your life now.  Next, you need to think about your personal and professional goals. Have you noticed that many successful people tell people to set goals?  There’s a good reason for it – they work!  So think about yours before you look for a mentor.  Once you’ve looked at your values and thought about your goals, then, look for people that you believe embody those values and goals.  Try to “network up.”  Look for successful people whom you admire, who embody values congruent with yours, and who may be able to help you with your objectives.  Look for people who have the characteristics that represent your values, who may have achieved some of the same kind of goals that you have established, and then go to the places where you can actually have meaningful conversations with these prospective mentors.  Unless you pay for coaching, trying to get the “sage from the stage” to be your mentor may not be realistic and will definitely not be easy.  Talk to people you’ve met, know, and respect.  They are the most likely candidates.

2. Should the relationship be formal or informal? 

It is not either/or, it is both/and.  Both can work.  I have had many, many informal mentoring relationships, as well as formal ones.  I’d recommend creating a formal mentoring relationship for about a year (if the prospective mentor is willing), then let it transition to something more casual over time.  If the mentor is only available informally, go with that.  The “right” person is the key.  Work with this person as much as is reasonable and respectful of their time.

3. What should you expect from your mentor, and what should they expect from you?

It depends on whether your relationship is formal or informal.  In both cases, you want the relationship to be congruent with your values and goals.  It always comes down to that.   Formal relationships should have structure and processes in place.  They should include regular meetings in person or by Skype (generally monthly).  There should be a set objective or topic to discuss at each of these sessions.  I have found it helpful if the person I’m mentoring sends me questions in advance so I can give thought to them before we talk.

4. How do you both determine whether the relationship is working and also recognize when it is time to move on?

As long as you continue to receive value from the relationship and/or give value to the relationship – it is working.  I have had some mentoring relationships where I started as the mentee, but it evolved over time where I was a peer mentoring my mentor on certain issues.  That’s when you know you’ve developed a long-term friendship.  Ideally, a strong mentoring relationship evolves into a long-term connection and friendship. 

Some people tell me they don’t have time to be a mentor.  To them I say, “find a way to make the time if at all possible.”  You see, every time I was a mentor to someone – it was also a learning experience for me.  When I was given topics from people I mentored, I always did a little research or looked through my files to see if there was something I could offer them to help them through the issue.  What I realized over time was that I was improving myself while trying to help them. 

This really struck home with me when many years ago I coached my son’s elementary school chess club.  I remember going into it thinking that it would be great to spend time with my son and his friends – but at no time did I think that I would become a better player by coaching 10 and 11 year olds!  I soon discovered that I was wrong.  By coaching these young chess enthusiasts, I had to really brush up on my game.  More importantly, I had to do my homework to learn the names for many of the moves and strategies that I had done intuitively for years.  I was amazed at how my game improved by coaching elementary school kids.  

The same is true with mentoring people to network better.  The process not only benefits the mentee, it also benefits the mentor.