Where is That High Energy Company Culture Supposedly Inspires?

Lately I’ve been to a number of on-site meetings with a range of organizations — mostly small businesses and including a sales training company. In each and every case, I have been stunned by the low level of energy that pervades these businesses.

In fact, all of these working environments have been remarkably quiet and subdued. It’s as though the only people actually on site are the people with whom I’m meeting. It’s downright eery.

Recently I was invited to be part of a client agency’s team to meet with a new client of theirs. The in-house agency team barely spoke at all. Frankly, I was the one who was enthusiastic about the client’s new business launch. I was the one who asked questions.

There is so much damn hype around the importance of “company culture” and the level of energy companies like to believe they radiate and instill. My experiences suggest the contrary is more often true.

I have questions as well as a developing theory about what is really happening in the workplace. Mostly, I find it disconcerting that businesses appear to be placing emphasis on the ethereal concept of “culture” rather than on truly understanding their business model and building an appropriate and strong organizational foundation to support it. From my experience, the companies that do so are the ones that project a healthy level of energy. For them it happens both naturally and seemingly effortlessly.