Maybe you think a startup should not define any company culture or standards at the outset. This would be a mistake. Usually there are certain elements set in the formal documents from day one. True: these are sometimes crazy, sometimes the perfect zen. Either way, you need to keep in mind that new employees should implicitly perceive and understand these values and visions.
At any rate, building a corporate culture that will attract the best talent, support the best solutions and change the world, requires (not only) at the beginning a good deal of effort. Therefore, the Fast Company website offers some tips on how to do it:
1. Emphasise trust
Trust may be the most fundamental pillar on which a strong corporate culture should be built. Many entrepreneurs know this, but not everyone is able to incorporate it effectively into the atmosphere of their business. How to build trust? Start by fulfilling all promises. This sounds trivial, but support even in the smallest details can really induce in your staff a strong sense of faith both in you and also amongst themselves.
2. Talent cannot beat team spirit
Starting a new business is like setting sail on the open seas. One able sailor could hardly control the ship in rough waters. Without teamwork, you can scarcely influence the direction. How to achieve control? Create incentives that, besides personal initiatives, reward especially teamwork. Set milestones and then celebrate common goals that will give your staff the feeling they are part of something bigger.
3. Do not forget to reward merit
There is nothing worse than appropriating the credit of the team you lead. While the task of the leader is to manage the vision and represent the team, it is very important to know specifically whose and what merits should be valued. So if one of the team members again stays late in the office on Friday to finish a basis for further teamwork, you should make sure s/he is praised accordingly.
4. Respect one other
Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you. That, at least, is the golden rule which certainly needs establishing among the pillars of your corporate culture. You will appreciate this when the company is under time pressure and the situation becomes more stressful. Respect and dignity should always be maintained.
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