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Culture is a buzzword that’s commonly thrown around in large organizations. The only problem is that the word culture is a relatively ambiguous term. 

What it may mean for your company won’t mean the same thing for another organization. 

So what makes some businesses get culture right, where others fall into a group of rah-rah statements that don’t mean very much. 

Andrew YJ Kim helped us dive into this topic. Kim is the author of Culture for the Left-Brained Leader.

He shared his five pillars of culture on the latest episode of the Inner Edison Podcast with Ed Parcaut. If you’re a company looking to scale, you won’t want to miss what he had to say. 

1. Rituals and Rhythms

When small companies begin to scale, one of the common themes they notice is a lack of communication. What used to seem easy now is a bureaucratic task in futility. 

One important ritual or rhythm that can break down as a business grows is one-on-one meetings. 

One-on-one meetings are valuable for a few reasons: 

• Establishing a human element and learning about an employee’s life
• Establishing if they’re doing a good job, and if not, how they can improve
• What tools do they have available to them
• What are their strengths and weaknesses
• What are their aspirations

These meetings change the dynamic of the employee/management relationship. It helps employees feel heard and valued and can help increase productivity. 

However, as businesses grow, one-to-one meetings may become less frequent or non-existent. 

Andrew states that meetings like these are essential to maintain a culture that is, at its core, interested in maintaining quality relationships. 

2. Approaching Everyday Moments

While in the past, many businesses may have just expected employees to just do their job, that isn’t the case today. 

In today’s business world, companies must support the growth of their employees. It starts by having a coaching approach rather than a directive approach. 

Andrew believes that giving employees a stake in sharing their ideas is essential to building a strong culture.

3. The Psychology of Change

While most people are energized by change in their personal lives, they look at organizational change in a fundamentally different way. 

Therefore leaders need to understand the psychology of change and how it affects people differently within an organization. 

Creating a culture that supports change as a launchpad for growth and new ideas can help all people look at change proactively rather than something being forced upon them. 

So it’s important to think about how you can find change agents within your organization at all levels to help enact change on a larger scale. 

4. Reassessing Business Processes and Human Resources

Growing companies need to think about the employee journey. So companies looking to scale should think about what the role looks like from all facets of the employee journey. 

That can help drive goals and training initiatives. 

Another area that should be reassessed is systems and processes. 

Systems and processes should be: 

• Simple 
• Scaleable
• User-friendly
• Flexible and adaptable

Finding ways to increase efficiency can help your company increase your productivity and improve scalability. 

5. How to Approach Strategy

How companies approach a new strategy can say a lot about the importance they place on creating a solid culture. 

Layoffs will continue until profits soar is a terrible strategy and says nothing about culture. On the other hand, having a company buy-in on a company mission says a lot more. 

For instance, having a big audacious goal can be a driving force to spurn: 

• Creativity
• Problem-solving
• Customer service
• Sales and marketing

Having a clear target and a series of goals to get there can empower an organization behind a single vision. 

A perfect example of this is the worldwide brand Lego, which, after hemorrhaging money, refined its strategy and went back to basics through its motto: to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. 

Culture Doesn’t Have to Be Confusing.

If your company is looking to scale but wants to establish a strong culture before going big, please check out Kim’s book Culture for the Left-Brained Leader. 

Applying the five pillars of culture can help your business scale with greater productivity and profits. 

For more great content about entrepreneurship and more, please check out the Inner Edison Podcast with Ed Parcaut.