Which came first the chicken or the egg? I have my opinion on that age old question.
I often am asked which is more important or should come first in a business; the system or the culture? In the Level 7 System we recognize the critical importance of becoming systems driven and building a self-sustaining, differentiating culture.
We need systems to build our culture. We also need culture to shape and define our systems.
They are equally important. They should be developed at the same time!
Business owners that are effectively engaged in BUILDING their businesses, not just working in them, focus intently on building and threading the business culture and driving the continual improvement and development of systems.
I wanted to share some examples of how a couple business owners are well on their way to building incredible cultures in their businesses.
Pat Garritty of Trilliant Real Estate Group in Alberta, Canada and Liam Cumming of Datacom Specialists in Cincinnati, Ohio have done an extraordinary job of developing and inspiring their employees to take ownership of the company culture.
Pat engaged in a series of conversations with his team over several weeks. They white boarded the conversations. Together they drilled down and defined the culture until they had collectively settled on the beliefs that best define the business.
One day, to Pat’s surprise, he arrive at his office and proceeded up the stairs. This is what he saw.
His employees took the initiative to create and hang these reminders.
Look what Liam Cummings had painted on the wall in their company offices. Their company motto is ‘Do More with Green’. The culture centers on that theme. Employees are referred to Greenanator’s as an example.
In both Pat and Liam’s cases, they engaged their employees in the conversation about their culture. Their employees are shaping it. They are living it.
Great job and a fine example of implementing the Level 7 Principle of Threading Culture.