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All companies have a culture.\u00a0 <\/span>In some cases, the culture is one that has been carefully constructed and nurtured, in others, the culture has evolved haphazardly over time, but either way, a culture is present, and it is defined by what it tolerates.<\/p>\n Think of IBM in the early days.\u00a0 <\/span>They wanted a culture of professionalism.\u00a0 <\/span>Employees were expected to show up for work well-groomed and in conservative business attire.\u00a0 <\/span>Showing up for work with unkempt hair and wearing a Bud Lite tee shirt was not tolerated.<\/p>\n Ritz Hotels are legendary for customer service.\u00a0 <\/span>Employees who don\u2019t understand and practice world-class service are not tolerated.<\/p>\n At a manufacturing plant, employees on the assembly line are empowered to shut down the line if they spot something wrong.\u00a0 <\/span>In that culture, high quality is expected and nothing short of that is tolerated.<\/p>\n Every culture is different.\u00a0 <\/span>For IBM, conservative dress was an important part of the culture.\u00a0 <\/span>For a general contractor, having carpenters, electricians, and plumbers trying to put up a building in 3-piece suits would be crazy.\u00a0 <\/span>Nursing homes don\u2019t tolerate violence.\u00a0 <\/span>The Marine Corps teaches it.<\/p>\n The point is, your culture needs to be something put in place thoughtfully and deliberately, and it must answer the question, \u201cHow do we behave around here?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>You need to consider all of your stakeholders . . . customers, employees, and vendors.\u00a0 <\/span>What do you expect of them, and just as importantly, what do they expect of you?\u00a0 <\/span>Your culture, what you tolerate and what you don\u2019t, should reflect all of that.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All companies have a culture.\u00a0 In some cases, the culture is one that has been carefully constructed and nurtured, in others, the culture has evolved haphazardly over time, but either way, a culture is present, and it is defined by what it tolerates. Think of IBM in the early days.\u00a0 They wanted a culture of<\/p>\n