Culture

"Morale is a state of mind. It is steadfastness, courage, and hope. Confidence, zeal, and loyalty. Esprit de corps and determination. Morale is staying power. Morale is the spirt that stays to the end. It is the will to win.”

-George C. Marshall; Chief of Staff; US Army, Secretary of State; USA

Morale. Tough to measure, fragile to maintain, critical to success. There is little more important to the effectivity of any team (work, sport, family, etc.) and less understood than culture; the continuous delivery of morale. Oxford dictionary defines culture as the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Leaders define culture as who you are, what you are, what you do, and how you do it. This edition of Relentless Pursuit will focus not on defining culture or highlighting the results of a strong culture, but the process of building it by examining 3 leaders who have a proven system of building a strong culture.

CULTURE:

TRUE NORTH FAMILY OF COMPANIES: Brian Slipka and the True North Family of Companies lead a diverse set of businesses that encompass a wide variety of industries, hundreds of people, and an inspiring amount of activity. True North’s focus on servant leadership, bias for action, and intentionality in creating culture have developed impressive results. Their process for culture creation is summarized well in this Podcast.

1. Shared experiences > Relationships > Trust > Culture

2. Focus on serving others best. Hold high esteem, but think of yourself less, and how you can serve others more.

3. Recognize culture is either by design or by default. Be intentional; design it!

ECHELON FRONT: Jocko Willink and his leadership consultancy business, Echelon Front, inspire strong culture through focused execution in each of these areas and many more. Listen to this Podcast with Jocko Willink & Leif Babin here.

1. Lead the culture you want: Be an example, every minute, of the culture you are seeking to lead

2. Name your team: Memorable, relatable, and definitive of who you are

3. Write down your vision, mission, and values: Share them with all members of the team regularly

4. Create an outward appearance of what you do: Organized job sites, matching uniforms, effective preparation, etc.

5. Create a common language: Unique, memorable, and widely applied sayings used within your team

5. Reward behavior that is in line with the culture you are building: Always remind the team why it’s important

7. Remember where you came from: Tell the story, write it down, share it.

ADVICE FROM AN UNKNOWN LEADER: Years ago, a business leader told me that culture is the result of significant effort and focus over time. While the leader who shared this with me has faded from memory, the lessons it contains have not.

1. Work: Creating your culture will require work

2. Focus: Culture is created when you focus on it, to focus on it you must know where you are going.

3. Time: Culture is not created when you say it is, it's created when your work and focus show it is over time

TREND: Culture is easy to talk about, hard to find, and impossible to create if we don’t start with ourselves. Change the trend – go CREATE your culture by living it!

Lead | Produce | Pursue

Joe House