What you do is who you are – Ben Horowitz

 What you do is who you are – Ben Horowitz

I came across this fascinating book “What you do is who you are” by Ben Horowitz, beautifully explaining the importance of culture in an organization and how to create business culture. No oganisation can remain static; it is, therefore, necessary to go through culture of an organisation again and, wherever necessary, to finetune the same, to align with the changed business environment. Of course, culture of the organisation, which stresses on the virtues of integrity, honesty and trust, is permanent and should not be diluted.    I tried to summarise the main points brought out in the book, which has beautifully brought out culture and its importance to any business.

 

Ø What you are is what you do; One needs to do things, which are to be done, so that one can be who wants to be.

Ø Trust is fundamental to running an organization. Amount of communication is inversely proportional to the level of trust.

Ø As communication grows, communication becomes its biggest challenge.

Ø  Integrity, honesty and trust are long-term cultural investments and are permanent, which helps in creating better place to work and make the company a better one to do business with in the long run.

Ø Integrity cannot have boundaries; it is universal and you must live upto them in every context.

Ø Looking at the dynamic business environment, one needs to be flexible in adopting culture. For instance, when demand for warehousing is high, culture is built to bring in timely delivery, competitiveness and precision. In case of dip in business, there may be emphasis on quality, relationship, reliability, partnership, etc.

Ø There are f4 “C”s to sell our product –

-         Competence [understand need of customers, their buying criteria, budget, etc.]

-         Confidence to state your view point

-         Courage to stand by it

-         Conviction and belief that the customer will buy

 

Ø As we grow, one of the mistakes that may creep in, is to bring in lot of processes and rules, which can stifle creativity and free thinking. While processes have to be put in place to ensure that there are no surprises, it is also important that they don’t put brakes on free will and innovation. Processes and rules should remain a tool only and cannot rule over individual decision making.

Ø Merely to beat competition and grow the market, one cannot compromise on our culture or remove ethics from culture. This can be disastrous in the long run.

Ø At all times, our motto should be “We do the right thing. Period”.

Ø Culture is a code of action, a system of virtues, Virtue is a belief that you actively pursue, as belief without action is worthless. What you do is what you are. Virtue is tested when one is faced with different choices. Virtue is intact when your don’t compromise on the values, even at the cost losing something.

Ø Samurai are great warriors of Japan and are known for their loyalty and bravery. Some of the codes followed by a Samurai warrior are –

·        Rectitude/justice

·        Courage

·        Honour

·        Loyalty

·        Benevolence

·        Empathy

·        Self-contol

·        Veracity/sincerity

 

Ø Culture is a consequence of action rather than beliefs.

Ø Employees joining the company are required to undergo orientation program to enable cultural fit.

Ø People spend most of the time in office and they become who they are and they become the culture.

Ø To ensure that culture is established, people down the line should be on same page.

Ø One cannot have one set of ethics for customers and an entirely different set for in-house.

Ø Culture and strategy must be cohere, to be effective. For instance, in case of NDR, we are able to be ahead of competition mainly due to lower capex/sq.ft. and fastest turnaround. Our culture should, therefore, be attentiveness to frugality and strategy should be to keep cost under control and delivery of warehouse ahead of time.

Ø For a vibrant culture, the company should be able to positively assert the following to its team :

-         They make a difference

-         They matter to the company

-         Their contribution will move the company forward

-         They will be noticed

Ø  Important element of a company’s culture is that it cares for its employees.

Ø Ethical integrity must be maintained at any cost.

Ø Loyalty is about quality of relationship.

Cultural Checklist

Ø Cultural design should align with both the personality of the leader and strategy. To be defined in an unambiguous way.

Ø Cultural orientation – make the first day count

Ø Draw rules that will make people ask “Why do we have this rule?” This will reinforce cultural elements and ensure compliance.

Ø To make the lesson impactful, use concrete examples and must be dramatic to catch attention.

Ø Make ethics explicit and not to leave the principles unsaid.

Ø Give cultural tenets deep meaning so that all are on same page and there is no confusion as to the objective.

Ø Walk the talk – Refrain from choosing virtues which you don’t practice yourself.

Ø Perfect culture is impossible. Try to have best possible culture to ensure it stays aimed at its target.

Ø Culture begins with deciding what you value most. Thereafter, help the team practice behaviours that reflect those virtues.

Ø Great culture is when you feel “I am being the person I want to be”.