Culture Isn’t Optional

Before you decide what products to sell,
before you decide how to grow,
before you decide who or even if you will hire,

You are already creating culture.

But culture itself is invisible.

We only see it through outcomes.

Which is why people often don’t recognize it until something isn’t working.

The symptom shows up first.

Culture is often underneath it.

Many founders think culture is optional.

It isn’t.

The only choice is whether it develops intentionally or accidentally.

And as with all things, indecision is a myth; if you don’t choose, it will choose itself.

Here’s what most founders don’t realize: not deciding about culture is in itself a decision.

Culture doesn’t wait for you to be ready. It forms from whatever you do, tolerate, reward, and ignore — whether you’re paying attention or not.

This is exactly where Cooper North finds himself right now. He believed the most important decision in front of him was whether to sell his company. What he is beginning to realize is that the decision sits much farther downstream. Before he can decide where the company should go next, he has to understand what kind of company he has actually built and what it exists to make possible.

Which begs the question then: If culture happens anyway, what is the cost of leaving it unattended?

The consequences show up in everything.

What we measure (or don’t).

How we communicate (or don’t).

And, most importantly, how we decide (or don’t).

The other false belief many founders hold is thinking that culture is what happens after a company grows.

But the reality is that culture is what determines how it grows.

That’s why culture is the first decision.

We began looking at this last week, but it warrants a second look because this is where it gets practical.

It’s not evident just from looking at what you say.

It’s about what repeats.

Culture leaves clues. It carries its own fingerprints.

Here are some deeper questions that can help.

What gets rewarded?

Not what should be rewarded.

What actually is.

What gets avoided?

This is a big one.

Avoidance is often more revealing than action.

What creates anxiety?

This one fascinates me.

Because anxiety often points toward cultural expectations.

Insight: If missing a deadline causes panic, but missing a family dinner doesn’t...

That tells you something.

The point is that we have to be willing to look realistically at what we’re paying attention to and how, and then what we’re ignoring.

But what I can tell you without reservation is that, of the three main ways we can find our culture, the third is the most telling and controls them all.

How do you make decisions? And if you have a staff, how do they make decisions?

Now let’s look at what that’s costing you.

Look for friction.

Culture creates one of two things:

• Energy

• Drag

A healthy culture creates leverage.

An unhealthy culture creates resistance.

Not only is culture the first decision, but it’s also the most important and, ultimately, will be the most defining.

Learning how to make those decisions intentionally matters.

Because going into any venture, most people don’t know:

• What is theirs,

• What they’ve inherited,

• What they’ve adapted to,

• What they’re reinforcing.

They just bring those unconscious forces in with them until they begin to surface and demand our attention.

That’s why culture is so fascinating.

And once again, it’s invisible right up until the moment it isn’t.

On paper, almost every organization can look good. Even if it’s a staff of one.

They all have:

• Mission statements,

• Values,

• Policies,

• Procedures,

• Contingency plans,

• Strategic plans.

The real question is:

What happens when pressure arrives?

That’s where culture stops being theoretical.

The crisis won’t create the culture.

It will expose it.

Over the years, I helped create countless business continuity plans. What fascinated me wasn’t what was written in the plans. It was what happened when people stopped following them.

Under pressure, organizations almost always revert to their actual culture.

The same is true of our businesses, regardless of size, because, in the end, all business is personal.

The biggest fallacy I see around this is confusing values with culture. Values are a part of it, but not the sum total of it.

You can’t discover (or define) your culture just by asking about your values.

What’s above the waterline — mission statements, values documents, stated priorities — is what people think culture is. What’s below — what gets rewarded, what gets avoided, what happens under pressure — is what culture actually is. That’s the invisible-until-it-isn’t truth about culture and how it controls everything we do.

The more important question is this:

When things get difficult, what happens?

Do you:

• Communicate more or less?

• Collaborate or isolate?

• Seek clarity or react?

• Protect the mission or protect yourself?

• Slow down and think, or speed up and hope?

Under pressure?

We discover what we actually trust.

What we actually prioritize.

What we actually believe.

Recently, I came across an example that captured this perfectly.

My good friend and colleague Michelle Prince is a leading expert on the topic of authority. She has worked with many business owners over the years in a very specific way: by writing a book that demonstrates not only their expertise but also the mission behind it. I even had the privilege of working with her and contributing to one of her compilation books. (Dare to be a Difference Maker)

In a recent article here on Substack, she shared a story about an author she was working with, in which this insight about culture was the breakthrough the business owner needed to finally write the book he wanted and needed to write.

He had to move beyond what he was building and how to grow it, to answering the question: What is it actually for?

In the simplest terms, that is culture.

It sounds simple. For most business owners, it’s the hardest question they’ve never fully answered.

What is your business actually here for?

Here are Michelle’s thoughts that you may be able to relate to:

The pace of running a business does not make space for that kind of reflection. There is always something more immediate. But the leaders with the most lasting influence are almost always the ones who can answer it clearly. They know why the work matters beyond the transaction. And that clarity shows up in everything they do.

Authority connected to something real compounds differently than authority that is not. People feel it even when they cannot name what they are responding to.

What is your authority for?

I would love to help you not only answer that question but also put a framework in place to ensure you honor the answer in every way, in every decision you make.

That's the work. And it's exactly what we'll be doing together on June 16th.

I mentioned my upcoming workshop last week. We’re one week out, and I want to make sure this doesn’t slip past you if it’s timely and valuable.

On June 16^th (next Tuesday), I’m leading a 90-minute workshop: The Decision Framework Your Business Has Been Waiting For.

In the workshop, we’ll move beyond recognizing the patterns and begin building a framework that centers on the culture you want to build and maintain— whether you’re a staff of one right now or building toward more.

There will be time for your questions, your decisions, and your situation. That’s the part I’m most looking forward to.

If you visit the workshop page, you can learn more about what we will be covering and there is also an FAQ section you might find helpful.

I’d love to have you in the room. Here again is the link to register:

https://maven.com/kathi-laughman/the-decision-framework-your-business-has-been-waiting-for

The workshop is $200. As a thank you for being part of my community here on Substack, use code IDEAL at checkout for $50 off.

And, as always, if you have any questions about today’s message or the workshop, I’d love to hear from you.

If you are new to The Possibility Factor, this publication offers a behind-the-scenes look each week at the book I’m currently writing under the same working title.

Our central character is Cooper North, a business owner at a crossroads who is learning that much of what he thought he knew is no longer giving him the answers he needs. We are following his journey as he learns to ask better questions.

Note: You can find the earlier chapters and reflections collected here: The Possibility Factor.