As I noted in my last post, the days surrounding Crystal D’s move to the new facility and meeting with Smartie-Pants about our future were very, very busy.
Our company culture was under the magnifying glass. In just a few short months, my leadership team and I had reconsidered just about every detail as to who we are and what we do. We also physically moved each item from one place to the next. This was a very energizing time filled with optimism and speculation. We asked ourselves:
- “How do we make our core purpose and values part of daily life at work?”
- “How do we recognize our employees in a meaningful way?”
- “How do we continue to provide “The WOW Effect”® to ourselves and our customers?”
The most logical answer to these questions could be answered with one simple tactic – a company meeting. We surmised:
- “We better tell all the employees what we’ve learned and what we’ve decided.”
In those days, we rarely held meetings with the entire Crystal D staff present. So when I posted a memo on every door in the building announcing that we were having an all-company meeting, my employees immediately expected bad news. Maybe there will be layoffs? A hiring freeze? Will I lose my PTO?
When we gathered, I announced that things were changing at Crystal D and we had decided who we were – as a company. In just 30 minutes, I downloaded all the information I could spew to explain why our new core purpose and company values were so amazing and awesome. At the very end, I added a note about how we’d be starting an employee recognition program.
I stopped to take a breath and scanned the audience for some sort of non-verbal feedback. My leadership team was sitting in the crowd with excitement lining their posture. However, no one else gave me any indication of believability. Instead, I saw a number of eyeballs roll followed by deep audible sighs of doubt.
Rolling eyes, everywhere.
Like a high school girl was just told to be home by 11 pm.
Oh, how those eyeballs rolled.
I dismissed 
the group and listened to hushed undertones of grumbling as my employees left the room.
The wind in my sails instantly stopped blowing.
Smartie-Pants had told me that whether you intentionally establish a company culture or not, a culture exists in every company everywhere. Up until that point in time, I had given little thought to establishing a culture. Instead, I had focused on setting an example of working hard, persisting through any adversity, and practicing fairness. Talking to my employees about culture, values, purpose statements was no different them speaking to them in French when their native language is English. So, really, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I was met with skepticism and apathy.
But, truthfully I was surprised, and it stung a bit.
I went home that night and talked things over with my wife. I told her about the eye-balls rolling and the surge of skepticism. She looked at me and in all seriousness said “You just took the first step on a one-thousand-mile journey, and you’re expecting a prize. It is not the time for prizes. It is time to take next step.”
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