Dr Jeff Cornwall

This past Friday I led a seminar for our local chapter of EO called “An Intentional Culture.”

Whenever I talk about culture I always am reminded of a chocolate Labrador retriever we used to have named Jazzmyn.  While she was one of the sweetest dogs we have ever owned, anyone who has had a lab will tell you that they are a very high maintenance dog. 

Training is a life-long process with many labs.  If you ever let up, they will begin to go their own way — labs have a strong will and a mind of their own!

That is why Labrador retrievers are the best metaphor I can think of for the culture within a business.  Culture also can seem like it has a mind of its own.  Your culture will be shaped by everyone you hire, your market, your customers, and even investors. 

If you don’t continue to pay very close attention to your culture, it will begin to drift away from what you had intended.  Just like our old lab Jazzmyn, you can never take your eye off your culture.

Some entrepreneurs are driven by the desire to create a certain type of culture in the business.  For example, Nashville businesses like Emma (e-mail marketing) and redpepper (advertising and strategic marketing agency) consider building and sustaining their cultures to be one of their top priorities.  To make that happen, the founders and their team relentlessly work to build and sustain their cultures.