Since the beginning of May, I have been researching various business leaders of major and small companies from the 1800's to our current day. I've been digging deep to learn how they built their businesses from scratch and cultivated a special culture that allowed their organization to thrive. In my findings, I became a huge fan of the earlier years of Goldman Sachs business culture. The rawness, discipline, ambition, and visionary leaders the culture attracted was second to none.
The individual that I was attracted to the most in Goldman Sachs culture was Sidney Weinberg. Weinberg started with Goldman Sachs as a $3/week janitor's assistant, where his responsibilities included brushing the firm’s partners’ hats and wiping the mud from their shoes. The grandson of the firm’s founder, Paul J. Sachs, liked Weinberg, and promoted him to the mail room, which Weinberg reorganized. To improve Weinberg's penmanship, Sachs sent him to Brooklyn's Browne's Business College. Over the years, Weinberg worked his way up to senior partner and became known as Mr. Wall Street.
Most people overlook the [successful culture] that was developed within Sachs that allowed for someone like Sidney Weinberg to start out as janitor's assistant to becoming one of the most dynamic senior partner of a global (and well respected) firm. Over the weeks, I compared many business cultures, such as Sachs, in various industries. It inspired me to create a successful list of characteristics that I believe will help entrepreneurs, CEOs, and organizational leaders in their pursuit to building a great culture of success in business. Below you will find a few off my list that I believe will get your juices going as you evaluate your business culture. The cuIture of success can be created by anyone who truly takes time to nurture it from within! Cheers!
RahGor Short List for a Culture of Success
It begins with the interview process
Every person that interviews for an open position your company offers will make their determination on how things work in your company. If the interview seems weak, so shall the mindset and view of your company. The interview process is a business culture's first impression.
Inspire loyalty and total devotion
It is important that each person becomes inspired by the culture to show great loyalty and devotion. This is very important during to the business during moments of success and failures. This shows the culture's strength and the faith each person has in the value of the business.
Keep the politics out of the organization
Ummm, This is self explanatory
Greed and ego can not be tolerated
The most important people to the business are the clients. It is important that the entire organization knows that it's not about them. This includes the leader of the pack as well. Ego will have you falling on your sword and greed will make sure you can't pull it out.
There has to be a sense of family
This allows communication to flow gracefully. It will give each person a sense that they are apart of something bigger than a place that gives them a paycheck. Everyone feels that they are needed and play an important roll in how the company (family) will grow and succeed.
Grow your talent from within
Greatness in business takes time. Having someone that knows the entire organization from the inside and out is a true asset in business. You must remember that no one washes the rental car. This means that if you hire someone who doesn't truly know the culture or history of the business, they may not have pride in your business like someone who started as a janitor to become a senior partner of a global firm.