The Culture+ Blog
Insights to help you create a compelling and connected culture
High-performance teams come from high-performance cultures
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Why your referral program to find new employees hasn’t worked yet
Your cash referral program to find new employees isn't working? There are many reasons... One reason might be that your people don't understand the program. A communication problem. They heard about it once a few years ago, but have forgotten about it. Fortunately, this isn't THE problem. Another reason may be that you aren't paying enough. This is possible. If it's a $1,000 program, make it $10,000. Come on, you know getting referrals right now is gold. Likely this isn't THE problem either....
More Insights…
Designing for the wrong efficiency
We can design our client interactions for efficiency. For the hotelier, create SOPs that seek to engineer every interaction into an analogue algorithm. For the doctor, half-heartedly talk to the patient sitting to your left while you focus on feeding information into...
Ownership and self-directed execution
"What should we do?" The closed intersection (dump truck vs. car crash) turned the parking lot of the adjacent shopping center into an actual parking lot. It was gridlocked. Sitting at Starbucks trying to wait it out I overheard the staff talking. Scheming. "What if...
What is Generation X’s role?
Generation X (age 39-53), the much smaller generation squished between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials, has some soul searching to do over the next several years. For the past 30 years the Boomers have been comfortably and competently in command at the office....
“Run for your lives!”
Oh crap! There's a problem! It's a big one. Where do all the eyes focus? Right on you. Pleading eyes and mouths ask, "What should we do?" On the inside you might be saying, "Run for your lives!" But we know better than to book it out of the office with our hands...
Keep your face light, open, and encouraging
Skill check. When somebody offers an idea, do you instantly analyze that idea for faults and then make sure they understand all the reasons it won't work? I was at a school PTSA meeting and a new member of the group who had volunteered to coordinate the year's events...
We are returning to a P2P world
I was taken aback by the question. I didn't expect much at the outset because she answered the phone with a different question. "Would you mind holding?" *bristle* She came back on the line. "Thanks for holding. This is so and so, can I ask how you are doing today?"...
Make float non-negotiable
C concourse at Salt Lake City (SLC) at 8:30 pm this past Monday evening. It was totally bananas. Not an empty chair to be found. It was the same story at SeaTac (SEA) and worse at Kansas City (MCI). What I have been noticing with our airport infrastructure is that...
The important and the thief
The man walked straight into the store, grabbed a bag of chips, and walked straight out. He did not pay. He also didn't seem to be mentally healthy. I was standing in line for my sandwich. He made no attempt to hide the theft. We all noticed. Even the young employees...
All leadership is personal
Everybody around the table mentioned somebody they knew. The question that prompted the 16 of us was, "what leader inspired you?" The questioner made it clear that we could choose people we knew, or anybody else we follow. Every person responded with a story of...
Teaching humility
My fly was down for half the day. Am I talking about that one time a few years ago? Nope! It was today. *Sigh* Why am I telling you this? What I have noticed is that the Universe has a sense of humor when it comes to teaching us about humility. Just when you think you...
“Am I growing?”
Every weekend, when your people step out of the whirlwind and take a breath, a fundamental question bubbles up. Each is asking, "Am I growing?" Now, they may not use those exact words, but their questions are of the same ilk. "Is this still the right work?" "Where is...
1,000 opinions = 1 test
"One test is worth 1,000 opinions." Reportedly coined by "real" pilot Tex Johnson. [Sidebar: What is a real pilot? Mr. Johnson barrel rolled a Boeing 707 prototype during the Gold Cup hydro races in August of 1955. He barrel rolled a quarter million pound jet...