Do your people know what makes your company different?

In strong company cultures leaders are role models who are not just instinctive about their company culture cornerstones, but students of it.

While the political wheels of an election year are turning, take a minute to answer these three questions about an entity that everyone has heard of: the United States of America.

1.  How many stars are in the American flag, and why were stars chosen?

There are 50 stars, representing the 50 states.  From a book about the flag published in 1977 by the House of Representatives.

The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial...

2.  How many stripes are there in the American flag, and why were stripes chosen as part of the design?

There are 13 stripes, representing the original 13 colonies that declared independence from Great Britain.  That same book about the flag published in 1977 by the House of Representatives explains...

... the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun.

3.  What do the colors, red, white and blue in the American flag stand for?

White signifies purity and innocence;  Red, hardiness & valour;  and Blue, signifies vigilance, perseverance & justice.*

*These colors were actually defined in the design of America's Great Seal and then applied to our flag.  Learn more at U.S. Flag.

I have known the answers to #1 and #2 above since childhood, but I do not remember ever being taught the significance of the colors in America's Great Seal and flag. Consider the depth of character that was communicated, taught, and reinforced in this symbol of culture.

Where would America be today if every LEADER was a role model for these aspects of our cultural cornerstones that were the foundation of our nation? Similarly, it is the parents (leaders) of a family that determine its destiny, fate, and legacy.

When it comes to your company, do your people REALLY KNOW what makes your company different? Do they feel it in their heart?

If they do, how do you build upon that daily and weekly? If they do not, then procrastination about improving employee engagement is failure. You lose.  Your people lose (and their families).  Your clients lose.

Yet it does not have to be this way.

If you have a strong company culture, do not let up.  Continue to invest your time to learn and apply additional ways to improve it even more by playing to your strengths.

If your company culture is weaker than you would like, then do something about it.  2015 is gone.  So are they years before it.  You have a limited number of years ahead in your career.

Do it now.

We have to change to stay ahead of the game and grow.  I help leaders become better.  We work on leadership skills and systems to hire, manage, develop, and retain top performers, plus company culture, sales management, and strategic marketing.  Contact us if you, other leaders you know, and/or your company wants to improve.