It’s that time of year when Catalyst readers, along with the rest of South Africa, celebrate their heritage. When I think about heritage, family, background, values and so many words associated with togetherness erupt in my mind, but none more so than culture, which is central to this discussion.
In business, culture has a similar interpretation. According to the Business Dictionary, business culture determines what is acceptable or unacceptable, important or unimportant, right or wrong, workable or unworkable. It encompasses all learned and shared knowledge, explicit or tacit assumptions, beliefs, norms and values, as well as attitudes. Simply put, it is the way an organisation nurtures, builds and implements a way of doing things to ensure the work environment is harmonious, despite individual differences.
Startups would do well to think about fundamental principles related to the culture of their small organisation early in their journey in order to pave the way for their growth and expansion. The Founder who sets the tone for an expanded and vital culture will find the rewards as the rest of the team inevitably follows.
Here are five possible ways to create a positive team culture that grows your business morale:
Be Original: When you identify a gap or an underserved market, add your own innovative edge and go for it! Encouraging innovation is a fantastic way to build a positive culture.
Write It and Share It: To ensure you earn your team’s loyalty share your goals with them. Simplify your vision, so that it is inspiring, memorable and easy to adopt. Aim to build a work culture where information is shared freely and communication is seamless.
Stay Wet: Remember that profit is not the same thing as cash. Being liquid helps you stay in business as a going concern. Adopt the culture of maintaining a weekly cash forecast schedule. By presenting actual and forecast cash inflows and outflows on a weekly basis, you are helped to meet your short term commitments, whilst ensuring revenue is consistent and all collections received promptly if you operate a credit policy.
Know your Tribe: No customers; no revenue. Take time out to study your target market. Knowing their needs keeps you in their front view as a go -to vendor. Analysing what their wants are helps you create products or services they may need in the near future. This keeps you ahead of your competitors. Your customers make you successful. Keep them close.
Futuring: Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. As self-motivation remind yourself often why you started. Allow your head to venture into the dream-world where everything works out perfectly, and you visualise your business scaling and profitable but keep your hands on your desk and your feet on the ground, not letting work slip-by.
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About the Author
Titilayo Obasanya is a Business Plan/SME Consultant. She is the founder of StartUp Desk. You can follow @ttlayo_o on Twitter or find her on LinkedIn.
