Businesses that bloom in the market tend to share no more than two characteristics: a unique or superior product offering and/or a powerful culture. The latter is often dismissed as a trifling HR issue, but it is becoming clear that while a brand alone can create fame, it is this culture inherent within a business which creates legacy and permanence. Indeed, the culture of a company is becoming as sought-after a selling point as invention.
Frances Cairneross, a former management editor of The Economist, once wrote: “the common characteristic of success is the deliberate creation of a corporate culture”. But is this correct? Like brands, culture can rarely be manufactured and to do so is to go about business the wrong way round. The late David Ogilvy (a renowned advertising executive) in his seminal Confessions of an Advertising Man duly confessed that he had not once considered the notion of ‘corporate culture’ despite his agency being held up as its poster child. Some things, it seems, happen organically from the very nature of business. Corporate culture is one, brand is another.
Both should be considered in a similar way to a Wikipedia page. You can’t go in and write it yourself: however hard you try, it will seem contrived. But what you can do is shine a light on the true nature of your business and let that truth filter through organically. Pixar illustrates how space can influence company culture. The story, referenced initially in a Steve Jobs biography, is that the company deliberately has only one set of toilet facilities for its headquarters, to encourage staff from different departments to intersect and meet. Toilet facilities are not something anyone would ever advertise, but nonetheless the anecdote has spread throughout the business community as an example of creative business management. Culture can be fostered and encouraged but it cannot be created from scratch.
So where does it come from? In 2009, Simon Sinek, an author on issues of leadership and brand marketing, took to the stage of a TED conference to extol the virtues of his concept: ‘The Golden Circle’. Revolutionary as it was, The Golden Circle forced companies to consider the purpose (why) of their organisation and allow its culture (how) and product (what) to flow naturally from that raison d’être.
Indeed, company culture is informed by business purpose and propagated by the team which runs it: employees are the soundest and most genuine channel of brand communication. Apple is a fantastic example of a company which uses micro truths to cultivate a macro brand. From the creative offices in San Francisco to the sales floor in Covent Garden, each employee is well versed in the business purpose: every one is a specialist in Apple.
Culture can indeed be the best branding tool you have but perception – contrary to the old adage – must be built on reality. Brands, after all, are but a mere glossy representation of what is happening below deck. If you plan to invite onlookers, you’d better be sure the place isn’t a mess.
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