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Your Checklist
You now have the knowledge shared by business, scientific and entrepreneurial experts, but what can you actually start doing tomorrow to lay the foundation for your company culture? Here we have organized a to-do list to inspire you to create the most fruitful culture for your organisation.
#1 Putting things into writing
Put your company culture in writing from the start. Make it accessible for everyone in your company. Take your time; Did you know it took Netflix 10 years to complete their culture deck?
#2 Exploring your values
Involve a diverse group of people to discover your company values, gather their valuable input and feedback. As a leader, it's up to you to have the final vote.
#3 Making things concrete
If your organization grows, translate your values to the specific teams and/or locations to make them tangible for everyone.
#4 Building your narrative
Build a strong storyline: what’s the purpose of the organization, why did you start, what are the values and share this often during ‘campfire sessions’.
#5 Aligning your operations
Check if all internal processes, policies, and rituals are in line with what you have written down. Create a list of all the things you need to change in order to embed your culture in everything you do and start working on it.
#6 Continuity
Make culture a fixed topic on the leadership agenda, always.
#7 Filling talent gaps
Build a hiring process that focuses on hiring for differences to make your team complimentary, that is what truly grows your culture.
#8 Mitigating blind spots
Compose a diverse hiring team to ensure that the people you recruit are diverse.
#9 Taking the temperature
Measure your culture by involving your team. E.g. Through a Cultural Values Assessment from Barrett.
#10 Leading by example
Lead by example. Talk about the culture, what goes well and what doesn’t, and most importantly: live it. People can’t be what they can’t see.
