Culture Code

By Engr. Carlos V. Cornejo

Another good book on improving a company’s culture or work environment where there’s teamwork and employees are motivated in achieving a common goal is the one authored by Daniel Coyle, “The Culture Code:  The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups”.

A sign of a strong corporate culture is when individual workers won’t say to themselves, “I will try to protect my status” and feel like an isolated barking dog.  Instead, employees should have a group-oriented attitude by saying, ““I will do everything I can to help my team reach our goal” and feel like a wolf running with the pack.

The author recommends three things to keep in mind in order for your team or organization to become a highly successful group: “You belong. It’s safe to speak up here. We have a clear purpose.”

‘You Belong’

Employees should feel they belong to their company or team.  The boss or leader takes a lead in making employees feel at home in the organization by dealing individually with his team members.  The author says individual interaction should be: energetic, individualized, and future-oriented. Greg Popovich the great coach of the San Antonio Spurs would talk to each one of his players and say a few words before a team practice even talking to them in their native language.   One time Marco Belinelli, one of his players, cost a game because of his numerous turnovers, Popovich approached him before practice with a wide smile and started to have a playful wrestling with him.   This is how Popovich would inject energy into his players.  To acquire that future-oriented attitude, Popovich would also correct them by saying, “I’m

being critical because I have very high expectations and I know you can reach them.”  And so, Belinelli was made to see by his coach how he could improve in their next game.

‘It’s Safe to Speak Up Here’

High performing teams have leaders that go out of their way to create the “it’s okay to be open and honest here” feeling. One example is Dave Cooper, leader of Navy SEAL Team Six, the team that took out Osama bin Laden. When Cooper was leading SEAL teams, he’d tell new recruits, “You can call me Coop, Dave or Screwface. It’s your choice.” Cooper wanted his teammates to know they should not be intimidated by rank and should always speak up if they see a problem because without their input the team wouldn’t survive. Immediately after a mission, Cooper would do an “After Action Review (AAR)” and go through the mission chronologically to identify what could have been done better. During AARs, Cooper would often say, “I screwed that part up,” which opened the door for his teammates to admit mistakes. Once mistakes were out in the open, the team could collectively think of a different course of action, which ultimately increased their performance on subsequent missions.

Before missions, Cooper rarely gave orders. Instead, he’d suggest a course of action and say, “Now let’s see if someone can poke holes in this idea.”  Or “Tell me what’s wrong with this idea”.  Steve Jobs did something similar with his executive team at Apple. When pitching a new

product idea, he’d start with “Here’s a crazy idea…” Not only did this convey humility, but it also signaled to the group, “Hey, I need everyone to speak up and improve my idea.”

We Have a Clear Purpose

Organizations should have signs and symbols to remind employees what’s the company’s purpose or reason for existing.  In the home gym of the San Antonio Spurs, enclosed in a glass is a sledge hammer and a rock with a caption “Pound the Rock”.  The message is to keep putting in the work. Each player’s perseverance in practicing should be like hammering a rock a hundred times even if it does not break yet. It’s the hundredth and one blow that will finally split it.  The previous hammerings were not useless, although there was no visible result yet, but inside the rock is gradually splitting because of persistence.

Constant reminders of the company’s mission can also be conveyed through catch phrases.  Denny Meyer, the founder of Shake Shack and many renowned New York restaurants, goes out of his way to repeat cheesy catchphrases to his restaurant staff, like “athletic hospitality” (translation: we run around to ensure customers feel cared for), and “Turn up the home

dial” (translation: we make our customers feel as relaxed as they do at home). Each phrase is designed to be memorable and visual, so they do not forget what the team is about.