It is risky for a company to claim a “culture” because that claim is an invitation for judgment. Arguably one of the most challenging aspects of claiming anything is being held to it. It’s the current difficulty with religion. Claiming a meta-narrative truth requires adherence, and when deviation occurs, hypocrisy infringes. Of course, in claiming nothing, there is no risk and no reward. A consolation prize far too many people settle for. Defining organizational culture is equally an invitation to something deep and meaningful, but it has the ability to disrupt social contracts.
The term “Social Contract” is a well-documented phenomenon often abdicated through the leverage of some arguably well-intentioned employees’ perception of a contract. It is often based on perception and expectation and is inarticulately agreed on between the employee and the company. These contracts get formed through assumptions and expectations, whether agreed upon or not. At Unbridled, we calculated the risks and decided it was still worth it. Here are some of the landmines to navigate in making such claims about organizational culture:
- If you claim something significant, you will fail at it.
- If you fail, you’ll be tempted to retreat.
- If you retreat, you’ll be tempted to subtract significance.
- If you subtract significance, you’ll compromise integrity.
- If you compromise integrity, you’ll begin to erode significance and focus on efficiencies, operations, and margins.
- If you privilege profit over passion, you’ll be a part of a company that is dying, at least as it relates to empowering people.
