How do you Feel About Corporate Culture?

“So Lord, corporate culture is an integral part of any team and organization, right?” It wasn’t the best-worded question, but I thought it would get the ball rolling.

“Of course, corporate culture is important, Sam. And it all starts at the top. As Warren Bennis said, ‘The single most important determinant of corporate culture is the behavior of the CEO. He or she is the one clearly responsible for shaping the beliefs, motives, commitments, and predispositions of all.’ In the current culture of “faking it until you make it,” keeping it real is critical and it all starts at the top of the organization.”

Even from this brief encounter so far, I sensed the Lord preferred flawed, yet honest people compared with those who were just frauds. “Is that why so many people in the Bible, such as Abraham, Jacob, David, and Solomon, were such great examples of leaders or managers with flaws?  They were great because they were flawed, and the Bible does not try to hide that.” I couldn’t keep myself from blurting out.

“Correct o’mundo Sam. So many of the best leaders had flaws, but they learned from their flaws. It is akin to a leader celebrating their personal failure because at least they tried and then they learned from the failure. Like a workplace, if employees learn from their mistakes and keep improving, then the culture will trend in a positive direction. That is why Biblical leaders often faced setbacks, learned from their mistakes, and then improved. Some individuals in the Bible, such as Korach, did not learn from their mistakes and you and your readers can also learn from those failures. Don’t sugar coat it when you write your article Sam. Your readers should celebrate the learning opportunities failure can produce. It is like “near misses” in the workplace safety area. Yes, you can learn from incidents that result in an injury. But you can often learn much more from the numerous near misses that could have likewise led to an injury if not for luck…. or maybe divine intervention by one of my angels.”

A smile crept over my face, but I did not want to get cocky because I knew the Lord would put me in my place in a heartbeat. But I was starting to get more and more correct answers.

“Lord, can you give me an example of how a manager could better understand corporate culture?  I know there are all these ‘best places to work’ awards, but is having a ping pong table in the break room or a casual Friday workday really that critical in your view?”

“Son, I think we need to use organizational temperature and body language as the best barometer. What is really going on in a business or organization?  Are workers happy, disillusioned, dedicated, passionate, or unengaged? Often executives and organizations are so engrained in rituals that people do not notice. Every company has its own rituals, myths, legends, heroes, and villains. A leader needs to tap these, identify them, change ones that are no longer relevant or appropriate, and create new myths.”

The Lord continued. “Organizational myths are the tall tales of a great sales pitch or closing a major deal and what really happened. Similarly, there are numerous examples of customs that have been done in a given way for years because that is what is done in the organization. So many actions are taken just because that is what has always been done. It is like Ken Blanchard’s Who Moved My Cheese. Some organizations or executives do not want to change their rituals, but if they carefully watch the body language of their employees, they might realize they are barking up the wrong tree.   We live in a culture of don’ts. Don’t mess up, don’t rock the boat, don’t make the boss look bad, etcetera. I have seen so many examples of people missing the small signs. You can tell when the corporate culture is down the toilet when employees no longer take pride in their work, show up late, seem disinterested, are going through the motions, and other both subtle and not so subtle signs.”

I chimed in with a quick question, “But where–or who—is responsible for tracking these cues?”

“Everyone is responsible. Think of it like a family. A loving mother or father knows when a child is upset, and such cues are critical for maintaining harmony in the family. We need the same love and understanding in the workplace. However, to get to your question more precisely, the best spot to foster corporate culture is around the boardroom table, or maybe more appropriately around the breakroom table or water cooler. A manager who can fit in and really hear what others are saying or not saying can really gauge an organization’s environment. However, after the pandemic this has become that much more difficult as people are undertaking so many Zoom meetings with their camera off that it has become that much more difficult to gauge a workplace’s environment.”

Up on the screens popped my kitchen table. It never looked so beautiful. Sitting at the table were my wife and kids, doing homework. They were working together. I could sense the love and understanding.  My wife had a much better feel for the family’s environment. She could sense when things were off because she knew our kids so well. I assumed a great manager knows her team as well as a parent would know their children.

“Sam, in the Jewish faith the kitchen table is often described as a small sanctuary. Numerous religious services occur at the table. It is where people break bread and where the famous Passover Seder is held. In some cultures when a person passes away, they make a coffin out of the dinner table because it was where they made sure to follow the laws and traditions. Similarly, the boardroom is where a leader can foster the proper morale mindset for an entire business. The message shared by board members and how they communicate with others is key to corporate culture. But for the board to know the culture, they need to know what the people at the lowest level think. A culture cannot be imposed from the top down. It is started at the lowest level and then works its way up. A culture is a true reflection of the employees, rather than a faux vision of what some executives might wish the employees were. I love it when business leaders escape from the exclusivity of their corner offices and engage in getting their hands dirty through helping manufacture products or engaging in team building exercises across the entire organization. That is where they can really find the true culture and then help promote the culture- if it is positive.”

I thought about all the meetings senior management had. The fancy lunches, the dinner parties, the special parking spaces. Even with all the reports these individuals read, did they really know their employees?  Did they ever take time to get to know people well enough to know when they are being “played” or cannot see the true state of the corporate culture. It got me thinking about how critical it is to have a true and accurate picture of the organization.

“I guess there are so many people who would rather hide the true nature of what is going on in an organization rather than share the truth for fear of what might happen if the truth were revealed,” I stated.

Sometimes little white lies must be good, at least that is what I thought. It then dawned on me that there was a connection between a business culture and a religious perspective. It entails believing in others and undertaking an ethical underpinning to actions. A strong business culture requires a belief in the overarching mission for the organization. Similarly, a religion based on ethical underpinning requires a belief in a higher authority who has provided guidance as to what is always right or wrong, rather than when it is convenient. An organization that changes its beliefs and has a culture around dishonest practices will quickly fall apart.

“Lord, do we need to have a link between religion and ethics?”

“Sam, you can have some “ethical” white lies and bending of the truth.   But they are different. For example, people are not supposed to rejoice at the fall of their enemies, nor should they publicly humiliate others. That is a religious mandate and ethical obligation. But there is no truth involved. If you beat your enemies, you won and that is the truth, but that does not mean you need to rejoice. Thus, I allowed the Israelites to rejoice when they crossed the Red Sea, but that was because they were finally free, but in other circumstances such as Joshua’s conquests I did not allow the Israelites to rejoice in killings others.”

I was trying to keep pace with the answer. I guess it was like so many sports fans who love it when they see trash talking and the- in your face- stance from winners. But from the Lord’s expression, he was not going there with his answer. You should not rejoice in the downfall of your opponents, but I did not know what that had to do with religion, ethics, and corporate culture.

“Sam let’s start with defining religion. Religion, from the Latin, religare, which represents a binding. Religion binds people to one another and to me. The culture of a business binds those who work at the business like how people are bonded by religion to me. Religion can also represent a feeling of superiority or exclusivity. A business culture can be exclusive and can also bind. It is a fine line that managers need to be able to transcend. While ethics and unity might be one thing in heaven, it doesn’t really rest on earth.  I wish it did, but mankind just hasn’t grasped the true concept. Mankind has felt they knew the ethics for centuries and constantly fight to impose their version of ethical conduct on others. That is one reason why I used the Bible to spread a uniform version of ethics all over the world- so every culture and every group has a bit of it. The key product or service you are always selling is trust. Trust relates to ethical conduct.”

The Lord got up from his chair and went to the window. After looking out for a couple seconds, the Lord summarized his thoughts in a “bite-sized” nugget. “Businesses sell trust, and trust is ethics. However, ethics can be hard to discern. As such, people and businesses need a religion that creates binding laws that help you find the critical ethical compass so there isn’t wiggle room to convince yourself you’re on the side of ethical conduct when you really aren’t. Based on known norms for ethical conduct in the Bible, you know when you are stealing, you know it is bad, you know it is wrong…. So why do it?”

Up on the screen popped up “Ethics = Trust.”  Then it flipped to “Trust = Ethics.”  The point was made.

“Sam, man did not create me in his image; I created people in my image. Similarly, businesses cannot create a moral compass focused on the human perspective of what is right. Rather businesses need to follow my perspective of morality since I created mankind’s knowledge of morality. Thus, if I say do not steal, that is what needs to be followed by a corporate or organizational culture even if the prevailing trend is to steal. That is what led to the destruction of Sedom and Gemorah. Everyone there engaged in horrible conduct.”

I thought to myself about companies such as Enron and how there was a culture of inappropriate activity. There must have been some great people there who might have been religious and followed the Bible the best they could, but why didn’t they speak up?  Why did so many people not challenge inappropriate conduct?  It reminded me of how many Nazi sympathizers might have been good people, but they failed to act to confront a wrong. So many questions were racing through my head.

I looked up from my notes and saw the Lord hovering over me. He rested his imposing hand on my shoulder.

“Sam, just because I have the answers does not mean people will not do the wrong thing.  That is where free will comes in. People plan and I laugh. In the same vein I plan and can control everything except what people do. That is why the best policy is the truth and sticking to the truth highlighted in the Bible. No matter what age, time, society, technological revolution…. whatever… if you love your fellow man, protect the weak, protect animals, don’t steal, and everything else in the Bible you will be able to develop a thriving culture in any workplace. When you start deviating and creating your own self-serving “rules” the culture is bound to morph into something that will destroy those involved.”

“So, if I would need to summarize what you think about corporate culture would it be ethics, honesty, and compassion?”

“I think that is part of it. A culture is something that needs to grow and be nurtured. Ethics, honesty, and compassion are part of it, but not everything. In the Jewish faith we have a concept called a nishama. A nishama is a spirit. Another way to look at it is a soul. People have a soul. Businesses also have a soul. Ethics, honesty, compassion, doing good, truth, they are all part of what makes a person and an organization thrive and grow. There is no one set thing that makes a soul thrive. There are many things that make a soul grow and thrive. You can’t have a one size fits all approach to that soul. The soul of one company could be completely different for another company.”

“So those little one-line statements of vision on web pages and business cards are not really the true culture of a company?”

“It could be Sam. So many companies try to shoehorn their culture into quick digestible and pithy phrases they call vision statements. I have sat in on so many brainstorming sessions over the years. I have seen so many efforts to wordsmith something that would sound just right. Most of the time they sound good, but do not really reflect the organization’s soul. Often that is because there is a pre-determined direction that someone is pushing. When a true culture comes alive, it does not need any wordsmithing, focus groups, retreats, or brainstorming sessions. It comes naturally and is something that everyone feels. It is the soul of the company.”

“God, what is the culture of God, Inc?”

“Nice one Sam. I am not incorporated in Delaware or Nevada but have thought about it. Maybe an LLC would be better?”

God was once again in his jovial mood. He had a wicked sharp sense of humor and could back it with an encyclopedic knowledge base.

“Are you interested in knowing what I think is the culture in Heaven, or would you like to know the culture in Hell?”

I think God was waiting for me to lift my jaw from the floor. He would need a shovel to collect all the pieces of my jaw that were now cluttering the floor.

“Let’s start with Hell.” I finally said.

“Okay- Hell’s soul is… ‘we punish more than Cross-Fit’.”

God was so proud of his quick retort. I couldn’t blame him. It was good. I was scared to see what he thought would be the soul of Heaven. That grin came on his face…and then quickly disappeared.

“I do not joke about Heaven Sam.  I can joke about Hell because… well it stinks, and I hate that it is there, but I needed a place for all those bad spirits.”

On the screen was a photo of the Lord wearing a swimsuit and sunglasses. Behind him was the side of a building painted red and yellow with the words emblazoned on the side- “Welcome to Hell.”

“Is that…… Hell?”

“Yes Sam.  That is Hell. Not the one down below. That is Hell on Grand Cayman in the Cayman Island. I go there several times a year and then photobomb people when they are taking pictures in Hell.”

Oh, how did I fall for that. The Lord was glowing. I wondered if he ever took the guise of a four-year-old because he would get into so much trouble.

“We are digressing again Sam, and it is primarily my fault. Heaven has one mission, one goal, one spirit and that is focused on treating others in a godly manner. When I see souls coming to Heaven, I get excited because I know they have loved others and treated others with respect.”

“That doesn’t sound that difficult?”

“It is more difficult than you think Sam.”

I was thinking about going back to context thing. I did not need to say anything as the Lord was nodding in agreement.