Almost 70,000 years ago, homo sapiens started their march of progress and triumph conquering the species of all sizes inhabiting the planet Earth. The unprecedented accomplishments and successes are largely ascribed to the miraculous changes in their cognitive abilities due to unique genetic mutations invoked by the unknown forces for the strange reasons during the period between 70,000 BCE and 30,0000 BCE. Yuval Noah Harari* observed, that during their transformation journey from “Animal of no Significance” to “Master of the world” , homo sapiens stumbled upon a bizarre elaborate structure,while adapting to newly found cognitive skill, the weird structure was described as CULTURE by the philosophers many years later.
The modern term CULTURE originated from the phrase “Cultura Animi (Cultivation of the Soul)” mentioned by the Roman philosopher Cierco in his series of books “Tusculanae Disputationes” around 45 BC. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines the CULTURE as way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time
Organisation Culture
Organisation Culture is defined as a pattern of behaviour developed by an organisation to address the challenges of external adaptation and internal integration. These collective behaviours and shared assumptions are taught to new members of the organisation as the correct way to perceive, think, feel and function.
Dr. Elliott Jaques first introduced the notion of culture in the organizational context in his book “The Changing Culture of a Factory” in 1951.After almost four vibrant decades, modern corporate organisations realised the relevance of organisation culture in shaping the destiny of the organisations in the volatile business environment. The seamless integration of organisation culture with growth strategy became the point of discussion and deliberation in the corporate meeting rooms and corridors in the early 1990s.
Evolution of Organisation Culture in Start-ups
A vibrant organisation culture is vital for the Start-ups to survive , sustain and surmount the challenges of growth against the strong wind of fierce competition and market uncertainties. The newly minted organisations may not have interminable resources and robust policy framework to cultivate and enrich the organisation culture on continuous basis. On contrary, start-up culture blossoms on the fertile soil of fluid structure, flat hierarchy, unapologetic ideation and unbridled passion and motivation of the workforce. This culture of fearlessness, innovation, continuous learning and a perennial determination to succeed through spirited performance creates value for customers leading to quick wins.
As the organisation stands up on its feet and starts negotiating the blind turns of the corporate world, many new companions join in, old confidants lose faith in the organisation success story and drift away towards their own dream destinations, policy framework starts taking shape, hierarchy seeps in, best practices from outside world are adopted and attuned. This continuous evolution driven by internal and external forces shakes the cauldron of organisation culture.There is a reasonable likelihood of losing the elixir of organisations’ existence during the inevitable cultural disruption.
An entangled dilemma
The structuring and re-structuring of the organisations is imminent for managing the organisations’ sustenance and growth. The SOPs and guidelines are essential to provide direction for necessary organisational actions, even if it occasionally interferes with the agility and flexibility of the employees. The start-up organisations’ culture requires a delicate balance between robust process orientation and speed of doing business. The start-ups cannot succeed without a bit of madness to break new ground, it is imperative for the organisation leadership to promote and strengthen the culture of excellence and innovation in the organisation.
The organisations of all sizes implement myriad talent management strategies varying in scope to motivate and energise the work force to unleash the innovation and sustain excellence. In my humble view, the impact of these strategies are ephemeral from an individual’s perspective, as a matter of the fact, the strategy requires a continuous supply of hormone of increasing rewards to work effectively. The fledgling organisations may not have the luxury of boundless resources and umpteen career options for experienced employees to keep them motivated and in good humour for long. The problem is compounded by the irony of non-linear growth between accumulated experience and required competency level – in actuality, for most employees addition of an additional year in their work experience does not lead to the proportional enhancement in their skill set.
The inclusion of fresh, energetic, self-motivated and self-driven employees into the work force is critical component of the larger organisation strategy to infuse positive energy in the work environment to offset the dampened spirit induced by a few jaded souls. The dilemma for the organisations lie in finding the equitable mix of fresh and experienced employees to keep up the momentum of growth without tinkering with DNA of the organisation. Organisations need to explore the ways and means to foster the culture of excellence and innovation to stay ahead of the curve. Perhaps, there is no perfect answer to deal with this dilemma.
“Corporate culture is the only sustainable competitive
advantage that iscompletely within the control of the entrepreneur.”
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*Yuval Noah Harari- Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli public intellectual, historian and a professor in the Department of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of the popular science bestsellers Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
