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Today’s Question: How does your company breed a culture of success?
The answers below are provided by members of FounderSociety, an invitation-only organization comprised of ambitious startup founders and business owners.
1. We Challenge Our Team
We don’t look for the typical ‘ideal hire.’ Formal education? Former experience? Who cares? We look for people who are eager to learn and want to better themselves.
By hiring people whose missions are in alignment with our own, we’ve developed an amazing team of fast learners that are confident enough to take on any challenge. Our employees expect to be assigned tasks they’ve never had before.
Trust is integral. Our team members know what they need to work well, and I want to show them that I trust their judgments. Sometimes that means trying something weird with an email campaign or setting work hours that better complement their routines. When my team is excited about their projects and has the flexibility to work when they are energized, we all end up with a better product.
At our company, everyone must be passionate about the end goal of the services we offer, which is to help further brands as experts in their fields and to help them build solid online presences. It’s important for our team members to not only believe in the service we offer, but to completely understand how and why it works. This is more than a passion play. It’s part of our company culture.
4. We Allow People to Work in Their Core Competencies
I believe that our focus on creating a congenial team atmosphere, where everyone can work as much as possible in their areas of core competency, helps develop a culture of success within our organization. In my opinion, this creates an environment where our company is more likely to realize its priorities.
Ideas can come from anywhere, and success comes when people feel empowered to ideate freely. A lack of formality helps cultivate organic ideation. Good ideas float to the top to be executed and iterated upon, driving innovation and success. We look for and encourage creative solutions, allowing team members to work independently while providing support when needed.
Though we’re on a startup budget, we’ve found easy and inexpensive ways to help our employees live healthier and happier lives. For one, we provide all our employees with a gym membership, healthy snacks and regular team lunches and happy hours.
We appreciate original thinkers who take initiative and have conviction in their thoughts and ideas. Taking ownership of tasks and making informed decisions showcases leadership. With more leadership-minded people working toward a common goal, we find that great ideas are more prevalent than would have been otherwise.
