The benefits of a strong corporate culture are both intuitive and backed by social science. According to Professor James L. Heskett (professor of Business Logistics) once said: “Corporate culture can account for 20-30 on the performance of an enterprise”.

But the question here is what makes up a corporate culture? Each culture has its own unique features and interwoven elements. According to journalist John Coleman, there are at least 6 factors that make up a great corporate culture. Integrating those elements can be the first step to building a distinct culture and a lasting organization.

1. Vision

Peter Senge once said, “Vision is the picture of the future that you want to create”. A great culture always begins with a multifaceted vision. From that vision, it is possible to cover further goals, and then from that goal, it helps to orientate the steps more clearly. When a business has determined the direction, they will proceed to take it step by step.

This is most easily seen in non-profit organizations, most of their visions are quite simple but full of humanity, so they will be more prominent than business enterprises. For example, the Alzheimer’s Association has a vision “for a world without Alzheimer’s disease” or like Oxfam has a vision “for a world without poverty”.

A vision statement is a simple element, but it is the foundation of an entire culture. Vision as a guideline for all decisions and actions.

2. Value

The core of culture is the value of the business. Although the vision shows the goals of the business, thanks to those values ​​​​as a measure and standard to align the behaviors and attitudes necessary to achieve that vision. And many businesses also find their values ​​around a few simple topics such as: employees, customers, professionalism, etc. It is the uniqueness of those values ​​that contributes to a corporate culture. .

McKinsey & Company is an example, where there is a clear set of values ​​for all employees and the company as a whole related to the way the company wholeheartedly serves its customers, treats its colleagues well, and is always professional. Karma. Or we can also see a large company like Google, their value is simply a slogan but it is also a famous rule “Don’t be evil”, of course. they also have their own set of values ​​called “10 things we know to be true” as the internal rules of their business.

3. Practicality

It is a fact that values ​​will become less important unless they are respected in the practice of a business. If an organization claims “our people are our greatest asset,” it should directly invest in people in the ways it claims to be.

The company Wegman’s (New York) has set out values ​​that will be implemented in the future such as “caring” and “respect”, as well as drawing a vision of “a dream job”. And at the end of the process, it became the 5th best company according to Fortune’s ranking.

Likewise, if an organization has a “fairly low” value, it is forced to encourage the organization from employees to managers to discuss ideas about “common values”, avoid conflict. passive as well as affected by the negative. And regardless of the value of the organization, it must be considered based on the evaluation criteria and operating policies of the enterprise, from which it is possible to transform that “spiritual value” into reality.

4. Humans

Who will deliver the vision? Who will share those core values? Which human resources will be willing and able to implement those values?… An important factor to contribute to building a coherent culture in the enterprise is people.

That’s why the world’s biggest companies have some of the most stringent recruitment policies in place to find the right talent for the business. According to Charles Ellis (author of What it Takes: Seven Secrets of Success from the World’s Greatest Professional Firms) shared: “A good company always has plans to recruit people who are not only good but also suitable for the company. company, because they themselves will contribute to creating a corporate culture”. For him, a company should interview from 8 to 20 people for a vacancy to avoid missing talent. Dr. Steven Hunt (of Monster) says: “One study found that job applicants who fit the company culture would accept a lower salary of 7{c4b7d2290223f15944b9c87314b91619e9ebf7e45f0a97dc216e724878981bab}. People who live in a culture they love will stick around longer and help strengthen the culture the organization already has.”

5. Power of story

Marshall Ganz was an important part of Caesar Chavez’s agricultural labor movement and he also helped build the organizational foundation for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He is currently a professor at the university. at Harvard, one of the main areas of his research and teaching is “the power of the story”. Any organization has a distinct history and a unique story.

And the ability to translate that politeness into the present and turn it into a historical story is a core element of cultural creativity.

Like Coca-Cola, they have passed on valuable history lessons to the next generation, so that now it becomes a celebration of the company’s own legacy. Or the interesting stories of Steve Jobs that gradually built Apple into the most successful brand in the world.

History lessons through stories are the “invisible power” that helps each individual in the enterprise understand and follow the previous successes and achievements that the business has built.