September 5th, 2008
Stories, logos, symbols
and legends all make up a vibrant, and effective, culture. Here's how
a vibrant culture looks while in motion:
Look anywhere in our "modern"
culture and you hear stories abundant; the symbols and logos we see,
the first and foremost Canadian Flag, helps compliment the stories and
adds additional cultural flavour to seal the deal.
But how do these elements
play out in an organizational environment? Let's look at an
example at Altogether Now, Inc., an organization based in North York,
Ontario:
The tall spires of the bustling
downtown core of the uptown sector reflect in the morning haze. The
traffic along the MacDonald-Cartier Freeway (Hwy 401 to the uninitiated)
hustles along in short spurts of clutch enthusiasts on their way to
work.
The sea of seclusion lingers
even while being surrounded by hundreds of thousands of others desperately
trying to make something of their distraught lives. How can there be
so many people feel yet feel so lonely at the same time?
At the base of the tower
housing Altogether Now, Inc., the air is of a different nature. Instead
of the complacent, apathetic sentiments felt by many-a-professional,
the feelings of arousal and fulfillment radiate faster than the microwaveable
frozen dinner during The Young and the Restless.
Busy patrons line up their
cars in sequence with a sense of glee, avidly greeting fellow compatriots
who populate the other floors of the gleaming tower.
Susan Rolf honks her horn
as she pulls into the driveway of the tall windwrought spire,
anxious to enter her humble, yet weirdly practical, professional abode,
where she will spend the next ten-and-a-half hours negotiating a deal
with a large industry-leading client.
She's waited for months
trying to secure this transaction; ever since her organization heralded
the call of HR 3.0 and dug into their cultural warchests, they'e been
able to discover some unique facets of their collaborative existence
together. From unleashing stories of past shenanigans to outright company
saviours, the barriers that were once present have now been dismantled.
Hence the reason why the
company is called "Altogether".
Susan covers her eyes as
she exits her car to shield her against the glare of the sunlight reflecting
off the tall building.
"Another day,"
she quietly whispers to herself as she slams the door and slips on her
sunglasses.
She enters the building,
being welcomed by the colourful reception area on the base floor from
a cheery Brigit, the sophisticated Irish girl on an exchange program
to Canada as part of an educational requirement in her native Ireland.
The new paint looks fantastic,
Susan says to herself. It really brings out the spirit of this place,
moreso than that pathetic charcoal grey and wonky sign they had hanging
on the back wall.
"Good morning, Brigit,"
Susan calmly states as she trots past the reception desk and near the
tall, marbled corridors to the elevator.
"Hey Susan, long night
last night eh?" Brigid smiled, somewhat quirky.
"Yeah, tell me about
it. Those coffee beans are better ungrated like that. Saved me a bunch
of hassle, that's for sure. Haha!" Susan giggled as she strode
past, pressing the button to summon the elevator to take her to her
lofty desk twelve floors up.
"Hey! Susan! Wait,
before you go up, there was a fax left for you at my desk. I guess they
accidentally sent it to the main fax rather than yours. Looks like it's
from that client you were working on," Brigit said in a hasted
manner. "Good news, looks like they approved the deal."
Susan found it hard to believe,
after all this effort, the client agreed to the terms. She leaned against
the wall, unaware that the elevator she had summoned was waiting for
her.
She let it go, watching
the doors close and fending off the ethereal taunts urging her to take
the elevator up.
"This is incredible,"
she said as she remarked the clients' logo on the black-and-white letterhead.
"I simply cannot believe this."
A wave of stress and angst
washed off her shoulders like the receding tides on a battered ocean
beach.
Regathering herself, she
mounted the elevator, along with Stan in Accounting, Margaret in Procurement
and Mark in Marketing.
As they ascend, they fix
their gazes on the news monitor in the elevator. Frivilous things like
weather and traffic pass their vision, but the proceeding headlines
are what caught the attention, and awe, of the statuesque audience.
"Sapogarden, Ltd.,
signs deal with Altogether."
"Congrats on that,
Susan." The intensity of the voice shook the mood like a bomb going
off in the middle of the night in some slumber-induced neighbourhood.
The voice came from Mark, who had high hopes for this entire ordeal
right from the start.
"Agh! Oh, Mark, thanks!
I just got the news now. Brigit handed this form to me as I was walking
in," said a startled, yet clearly contented, Susan.
"Just be prepared for
the onslaught upon entering the office. I hope you like the limelight,"
Mark jokingly warned his devastated colleague.
Twelfth floor. She could
hear rumblings on the other side of the big steel doors.
"Oh god...in a few
seconds I'm going to be rushed like a little kid being pummeled by a
loving Golden Retriever. Stand behind me. I'm going to need the support!"
Susan chuckled.
Ding! The doors open, and
the chatter begins to get more ominous as the troupe exits stage left
and through the big glass doors. The giant Altogether Now logo greets
her over a mahogany wall in behind a grey marbled reception desk.
Susan tried to duck out
of view, but it was too late. The onslaught of praise started to begin.
"Hey, Susan! Excellent
work! You really won them over with your presentation," said one
voice by the printer room.
As she steadily walked through
the corridor maze of eye-level cubicles, the chatter turned into loud
clapping. I feel like a bloody celebrity! Susan thought to herself silently.
She continued along, casually
waving and occasionally stopping to greet her onlookers.
She arrives near the final
stretch of the pathway to her brooding, yet intimate, office. Nearing
the door, she's met by Ian, the one who helped mediate the entire deal.
"I can't believe the
news. As soon as I turned on 680news I nearly spilled my coffee on my
lap, swerving my car and pretty near collided with the angry old guy
next to me," Ian said in one breath. Susan chuckled.
"All that work paid
off. And the best part? You did it all by yourself: you initiated the
client, you're the one who empowered us to piece together the presentation,
and gave the final delivery." Ian was one who couldn't hide his
true feelings. He couldn't lie his way out of a mafia interrogation.
"It is pretty spectacular,"
Susan affirmed.
"Know what this reminds
me of?" Ian said.
"Oh, I think I know
what. It reminds you of the time when Anthony DiFerrero saved the company
from extinction by going out on a wing to get our main clients back.
Ian, we're a team here. Our culture is so strong and tightly knit that
whatever happens to one person, we're all affected. That's why we're
called 'Altogether' - we do things together. If only my former employer
felt the same way. Stupid hierarchial and bureaucratic mess that place
was," Susan shook her head in disgust at her former place of employment,
but showed absolute stauchness with the present situation.
"Uhm...yeah. I was
going to say that myself," Ian choked. "Anyways,
we need to piece together a press release, and soon. Bob Trader, the
company's VP, is descending his 'gracious' presence later today to discuss
the matter with you. I have a feeling this will be one of many times
we see him showing his teeth, in a good way, mind you," he said
with a smile.
The two of them walked towards
the lunchroom to retrieve some much-needed coffee. But their endeavour
was not met with silence they normally receive.
Stella, the receptionist,
met them in the room as she was plunking her lunch into some secret
compartment in the fridge.
"Great job, Susan!"
she said.
"Thanks, Stella. Know
what's funny? I wasn't sure it would have worked out. Ever have those
feelings after you write some big exam where you tell yourself you think
you did ok, but were pretty positive you didn't? Well, the opposite
happened to me. When I left last night, I walked out with feelings of
genuine assurance, knowing somehow that I actually accomplished this
'test.' I slept the best sleep in, since, well, forever, even despite
it only being for five hours. It felt rejuvenating to say the least."
Susan pushed the coffee
maker to start brewing her dose of consciousness for the day.
The day continued onward,
and the compliments poured in, eventually leading to a standing ovation
upon returning from a little potty break.
Bob Trader came in, speaking
with Susan behind closed doors, but instead of the regular gruelling
conversations they normally partake in, this one was the precedent which
changed his overall view of Susan and Altogether's capability as a company.
The proceeding press release
and growth that ensued afterwards set a precedent in itself as a legend
to be passed on to future generations to come, should Altogether continue
to live beyond its present livelihood.
Susan's day may have ended
with a brilliant display of a setting crimson sun over the Western horizon,
but her career with Altogether has just begun. It was nothing short
of solidified as she worked hard to implement and nurture the cultural,
and human, needs of the business, watching people come and go, though
those parting left with positive, and deeply emotional, memories.
She couldn't have done it
without HR 3.0.
You see, culture that is
tightly bound as previously demonstrated shows the level of performance
and dedication endured by its members.
So long as the symbols,
stories, logos and even the colours have relevance and invoke strong
desires to be a part of a cultured body, then the length, strength and
duration of that culture will never be broken.
Take a moment to identify
the culture within your organization. Where can it be improved? Where
does it shine? Does it truly identify the life and intrinsic make-up
of what the company is all about? How well is it practiced, reinforced
(without being forced) and cherished amongst your fellow staffers?
All of these are eligible
questions to ask when engaging cultural reinforcements or changes. For
if the culture doesn't reflect what the company is about, then it will
only accomplish confusion, distress and dissatisfaction.
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