Success comes when company culture, values, mission align
What does company culture mean to you? Is it the way employees are treated? Is it the environment in which the company works? Is it the organizational structure that oversees the entire team? Is it the hours that the company operates? Or is it the company’s purpose?
As with most general business questions, there is not one universal answer. However, company culture is of utmost importance to building and sustaining the performance of a company or team.
Let’s look at an example: Born of unique childhood experiences at Montessori schools, Larry Page and Sergey Brin began Google with unconventional methods and ideals that continue to permeate the business today. How did they do it? Before Google became the world’s best search engine on the Internet, it was merely one thesis by Page and Brin among many student research projects at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
When the two decided to privatize their work and move off the Stanford campus, they settled in the garage of a nearby homeowner to continue their work. They enjoyed working from this first “office” because it felt more like a home than a traditional corporate office.
Quickly growing and hiring, the team moved into a space above a local Palo Alto bike shop, continuing to carry the homey feel that they had established at their first residence. As the company quickly took form in the early 2000s, Page and Brin dreamed of building a campus that resembled universities around the world characterized by unlimited resources, thousands of people, amenities and living spaces. Today, Google is known for its unique offices decorated with sleeping pods, fitness balls, treadmill desks, free food and upscale living spaces.
So, how did they do it? They poured themselves, as founders, and their shared values into the culture of the company. Their attitude that anything can be achieved — and if it has already been done, we can do it better — became a mantra as the company took form.
They recruited similar-minded individuals with a keen interest in making a difference through search and the Internet. They created internal mantras — i.e. “Don’t Be Evil” — that guided their decisions. And, most important, they connected their shared values to their mission and vision, “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
I have been building Portlight for the past five years, and I continue to read the founding stories of great companies whose cultures drove their growth and innovation. Having a similar founding to many tech companies, our culture and set of values are greatly influenced from the first two years when we were building the business in our dorm rooms.
We are problem solvers, continuously approaching new challenges with a positive outlook that anything can be solved.
We are lifelong learners, always searching for individuals, texts or resources to further our knowledge and understanding.
We are forward-thinkers, constantly envisioning new ways in which the world may function.
Similar to many other founders, we have poured ourselves into the development of the culture because we truly believe in its power to make a company outstanding. As we continue to build the company and our website into a social shopping platform, we will continue to regard our culture, set of values and mission with utmost importance. For without a culture, a team lacks a common way of thinking, communicating and growing. Without a clear set of values, a team lacks a standard by which to strive. And without a mission, a team lacks the purpose for its work. When all three are in unison, magic can happen.
I encourage anyone interested in starting a company to study the art of culture before diving into the product. Read the founding stories of your favorite companies and understand how their founders instilled a heart into the organization. Take the time to reflect upon what is most important to you and your founders; then create a beginning.
Allow your foundation to influence your decisions, and watch in awe as a culture slowly evolves with time. You will be amazed at what you can create.