What Makes a Good Culture

I have been asked to share my thoughts on “culture”. My own definition of culture is: The adherence to a set of beliefs and principles that positively affect the behavior of all in the organization and typically emanates from the top leader or leadership group. Many believe that the leaders of sports teams establish “winning cultures” per the definition above. Think of Nick Saban, the great Alabama football coach. To paraphrase him, the theme of his culture is, “We do not focus on winning or losing but rather on the right process.” John Chaney, the late and great basketball coach at Temple insisted that excellent team and individual defense was the basis of his established culture. As a reward to this commitment to defense his players were given some individual freedom with their offense (Coach Chaney has one of the highest winning percentages of all time.) In my own case as a leader I would tell my team if they had to make a critical decision without consulting me, just “do the right thing” consistently. With respect to Global Executive Forum Entrepreneurs our culture is based on consistent adherence to our values as listed on our website: https://www.gefentrepreneurs.com/values. Finally, the best situation for all regarding culture is when team members throughout the organization deeply understand and apply the desired overall culture in dealings with all stakeholders including new members who are just becoming integrated into the organization. Mal Bass