Every winter, we’re reminded of the power of viruses; how unseen agents can spread and impact health. Scientists use controlled “cultures” in labs to study these viruses and develop vaccines. This concept of “culture”, a medium where things grow and behave according to their nature, offers a powerful lesson for business leaders.

In your Small or Medium-Sized Business (SMB), an organizational culture exists whether you consciously shape it or not. Like a virus, it spreads behaviors and attitudes throughout your team. The critical question is: are you cultivating a healthy, productive culture by design, like in a controlled lab aimed at a positive outcome? Or is your culture evolving “in the wild,” potentially spreading unhelpful behaviors and hindering your success?

Culture: The Behaviors That Persist When Leaders Aren’t Watching

Organizational culture isn’t just a mission statement on the wall; it’s the sum of shared values, beliefs, and behaviors. It’s “what happens when the CEO leaves the room.” A strong, positive culture, intentionally cultivated, breeds behaviors that drive desired customer experiences, profitability, and a thriving employee environment.

Consider A.G. Lafley at Procter & Gamble. In the early 2000s, he deliberately instilled a culture of open innovation to combat the “Not Invented Here” syndrome. This conscious cultural shift led to significant growth and market leadership. This is an example of using the “culture lab” to grow something beneficial.

Conversely, if a leader neglects culture, or if the prevailing culture is negative or misaligned with strategic goals, detrimental behaviors can spread just as virally, eventually undermining the organization’s effectiveness. Even highly successful companies driven by a singular visionary, like Apple under Steve Jobs, demonstrate how a particular culture, in that case, one of intense secrecy and top-down creative direction, can be incredibly powerful, yet also raise questions about long-term adaptability and distributed innovation once that central figure is gone. The lesson isn’t about a specific company’s trajectory, but about understanding the impact of the culture a leader cultivates.

The Leader’s Responsibility: Being the Chief Culture Officer

As an SMB leader, it’s your fundamental responsibility to:

1. Consciously Identify the Right Culture: Based on your business, marketplace, strategic goals, and the kind of team you want to build, what cultural attributes are essential? If innovation is key, you need a culture that embraces calculated risks, learns from failures, and encourages design thinking. If operational excellence is paramount, the focus might be on precision, efficiency, and continuous improvement. As a fractional CIO, I work with leaders to ensure their IT strategy and technology choices support and enable this desired culture, not work against it.
2. Consistently Communicate and Live That Culture: Clearly articulate the desired culture, explain why it matters, teach its principles, and, most importantly, embody it in your own actions and decisions.
3. Maintain and Nurture It: Culture isn’t a “set it and forget it” initiative. It requires ongoing attention, reinforcement, and adaptation as your business evolves.

What’s Next

Your SMB’s culture is a powerful force. Left unmanaged, it can behave like a wild virus, with unpredictable and potentially negative consequences. Cultivated consciously and deliberately, it becomes your organization’s strategic growth medium, enabling you to achieve your most ambitious goals and “Succeed Sooner.”

Is your SMB’s culture a conscious creation that actively supports your strategic objectives, including your technology and innovation efforts? If you’re looking for a partner to help you assess how your culture and IT can better align to drive success, let’s connect with Succeed Sooner Consulting.