What is “company culture”?

Boeing had a recent embarrassment when SpaceX replaced the Boeing Starliner as the shuttle for stranded astronauts at the International Space Station. And the problems may cost $1.5 billion.

Everyone keeps saying the Starliner’s quality problems (and other, very public quality disasters) can be traced to “company culture.” What does that really mean?

Most definitions you can find say that “company culture” means an organization’s “beliefs, values, attitudes, standards, goals and practices,” or a similar set of language. To me, that means the unwritten things people say and do at an organization when the bosses aren’t around, typically because “every has always done it that way.”

I have often found company culture to emanate from the top leadership of the organization. And it can manifest itself in ways the leaders may not intend.

My first job was with a great, high-growth company called The Advisory Board Company. Their values included “a servant’s heart,” and they really meant it. People actually used those exact words in everyday conversation. I still use some of our internal lingo in my own work.

I stayed at The Advisory Board (eventually CEB until they were purchased by Gartner) five years and made some great friends with some of the smartest people with whom I’ve worked. I think the fact that they lived their values most of the time had something to do with the quality of people they attracted.

Later, I had a job with Strategic Energy, which eventually became Direct Energy Business. A lot of my coworkers were former Enron employees, and they said that the company culture among most of the staff was great, but the culture at the top of the organization was rotten. Internal Enron memos later revealed in court show that the leaders talked with contempt about critics and were deeply aware of financial fraud.

Think about the words you use regularly at work. Do you find the team talking with deep sympathy and respect for service recipients, audience members, and donors?

I’m put in mind of one of my former bosses who often cited the example of one of our smallest donors. Despite being on a limited income, this donor would come into the office in person once a year to give her $20 check. She thought it was so important to give that she wanted to show up in person, and our Chief Development Officer used that example, rather than an example from one of our largest donors, as a testament to the commitment of our supporters.

You can change your language, too. Notice how you talk about front-line employees, weekly coaching meetings, and even internal newsletters. Choose words that embody your mission, vision and values.

Boeing could use some of those changes.