Fluff gets in the way of the bottom line

This common misconception needs a tune-up. Research is showing that healthy organizational cultures are a key component in long-term, sustainable success, and values are the cultural glue that holds it all together. For those that believe investing in the soft side of business is a waste of time, beware: there are significant benefits that come from a vibrant and alive corporate culture.

Shawn Parr’s Fast Company article, Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch, outlines the upside of investing time in culture.  He includes:

• Company focus on the mission, vision and goals;
• Employee motivation and loyalty;
• Team cohesiveness;
• Consistency, coordination and control within the company; and last, but not least,
• A spirit that shapes employee behavior at work.

Employees are your Advocates

Employees are the number one advocate or ambassador of any organization.  Does it not make sense to create an environment in which they feel motivated to provide the best service, top quality products, and are inspired to amplify your messages to all stakeholders with enthusiasm and commitment?

Graham Lowe, author of Creating Healthy Organizations, would certainly support this approach.  He identifies two important building blocks of healthy organizations: a positive culture and inclusive leadership practices.  These tactics improve the workplace, are a route to better business results, and ultimately to a better society.

With a plethora of false promises and violations of trust, organizations run the risk of creating exactly what they set out to avoid; a negative impact on the profit line.

Consumers are staking their claim

Sustainable success depends upon values-based leadership, integrity, respect for employees, customers/clients, the community and the environment.  If nurturing of the organizational soul is fluff, bring it on.  With the Internet at their fingertips, and living in the age of disclosure, consumers are staking their claim in a society that makes good happen.  It IS possible to have both a healthy organizational culture AND a solid bottom line.