Company Culture Impacts Lives

A lot has been written about culture through the lens of impacting a company’s outcome. Not so much has been written about the impact of company culture on the lives of those involved. I want look at company culture from the perspective of an employee.

People are susceptible to environmental influences and few environments get more exposure in our lives than the workplace. If a company’s culture is not changing people’s lives for the better, there’s something missing.

I have seen a number of dynamic, bright friends exit school and head to boring, bureaucratic jobs with lame cultures. They chose those jobs because they offered more pay, a retirement plan, and 9-5 regularity. They largely ignored the culture. Five years later, they resemble the organizations they joined.

All cultures impact people’s lives. If you’re associated with a bad or mediocre culture, you’ll have that impact on your life. If you’re associated with dynamic, growing cultures, you’ll have a different impact.

I’m not saying everyone should be entrepreneurs; most should not. I’m also not saying people can’t break from one culture and thrive in another.

I’m merely saying that culture is impactful. Impactful enough to warrant being seriously considered in career decisions.

I enjoyed a nice chat today with Johnson Cook who mentioned friends looking to break away from the CDC to start their own companies. The biggest impediment they’ll face is shaking the impact of the CDC’s culture to operate well in a more dynamic and risky startup environment.

How do you see your company’s culture changing lives? Have you seen your friends inherit attributes of their employer’s culture?

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