The Modern Workplace
“You guys taking it all in? Because this is what it looks like when Google acquires your company for over $200 million dollars.”
The opening scene of HBO’s hit show Silicon Valley features Kid Rock playing at a party for a company’s sale to Google. All around the party, people like Elon Musk and Eric Schmidt are casually conversing over drinks. Gilfoyle is eating “liquid shrimp” that costs $200 per quart. This is victory, right? Isn’t this what success looks like?
Nowadays, everyone wants to work at the coolest offices with an espresso bar, video games, and a meditation room. Companies want to attract the youngest, freshest, and millennial-est talent. Young people don’t want to work for “the man” in a corporate environment. It seems like the importance of the work and learning has been replaced by lattes and Call of Duty. It’s all about culture, culture, culture. One of the most overused buzzwords is “culture.” Why?
Because culture is everything.
Culture can motivate employees to reach their full potential and achieve their goals or it can destroy people’s aspirations and determination. Bad bosses and unreasonable expectations are most likely why 85% of American workers are disengaged from their jobs.
So how do companies create the best culture? What does culture really mean?
There can be two extremes in a 2018 office: elaborate startup culture or stale corporate world. Startup culture is about the things outside of work: happy hours, hot yoga classes, and bicycling around campus. Corporate culture is all about the work: file this paper, send this email, and get this project finished… NOW!
Where’s the balance of having fun with your co-workers and bringing value to your customers?
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on office snacks to make your employees feel at home; and you can have fun with your co-workers by planning social events, ping pong tournaments, etc.!
While most companies think about their people in terms of sales goals, statistics, and numbers, we think about our people with one word: family.
At AMEND, family is our culture.
We really treat each other like a family; we greet each other with hugs, have the hard conversations, push people to do their best, and celebrate each other’s victories. Life is a partnership, and here at AMEND, we’re going to do life together.
Here’s what Jay Sowar had to say about beginning his time at AMEND:
“After my first week I had plenty of people contact me asking, you know, “How’s it going?” And I started talking about the projects that I was working on, and they said “No, I want to know are you happy? Is it what you expected? Is your wife happy?”
While startups may care about having luxuries, big corporations may care about boosting the bottom line, we care about people and empowering each other to achieve results.
We’re building culture at AMEND. Not through a free cafeteria open 24/7 or giving away vacations, but through relationships and real-world experiences that promote personal growth and learning.
Questions? Email me or reach out on LinkedIn!
AMEND Consulting is a leading mid-market management consulting firm dedicated to building unbeatable businesses by creating endless competitive advantages. Double, triple, even quadruple-digit improvements are always realized — typically in 6 months or less. (See our impact here.)
