You are what you wear.

A typical marketing plan involves logos, TV spots, and billboards. But is there another way to advertise your business? If your company ever has face to face interaction with a client your dress code will speak volumes of your company's values. Several months ago my company changed its decades old policy to allow jeans to be worn on Fridays. For an officer which requires a shirt and tie four days a week it was a big deal.

Some firms are famous for their quirky dress codes. Tech companies are notorious for allowing its companies to show up Monday morning wearing flip-flops and Hawaiian shirts. Others like recently purchased Newsweek adhere to a very strict and professional dress code.

Deciding what duds should be worn in the office needs to be an intentional decision by management. Yes, it creates a company culture but it also impacts recruiting. As potential hires are weighing their options, dress code will certainly be taken in to account. There is also customer interaction. While some customers enjoy the relaxed nature of a contemporary, casual dress code - others see formal dress as an indication of a more serious approach to work.

As a general rule companies with a more creative focus have a more relaxed dress code. However, even Richard Branson's Virgin stopped short of going more relaxed than "business casual" after it acquired a bank earlier this year.

After my company changed its dress code, upper management was generally trusting to ensure we would still take our work seriously. In fact, to send their message we were shown this video (language is PG-13).


-Dave

It's not about you.

A few years ago I was promoted to my first management position. Among the multitude of perks that come with a management position is an actual office with a door. Though I quickly found out this wasn't as cool as I thought because I was instantly removed from all my other co-workers.

Anyway, the office itself is irrelevant to the topic here, except to say I've always wanted to put a sign on the inside wall above the door. If you can imagine this spot, it is where only I would see it when I looked out into the hall. In this space I would like to put a sign:

"It's not about you."

All too often in our day to day lives we feel like we are the center of the universe. We adopt the attitude of "my way is the best way and everyone else needs to get with the show". While we all know this paradigm is wrong, it can also be toxic to a company culture.

Take a moment and watch this clip of David Foster Wallace's commencement speech to Kenyon College. , Yes, it is 10 minutes long - but this is time invested, not wasted.

While Foster's comments apply to life in general, consider the business application. Positive work environments do not happen by accident. Companies adopt good values because they choose to; and it is a choice that needs to be made every day.

So the next time you field a call from an angry client with problem that was not your fault, or get frustrated because your team member was late (again), think about how you can be a solution to someone else's problem. You might just find that a concentrated effort on serving others will lead you to achieving your goals.

Creating a good culture

A business is nothing without its people. It is the effort of the employee which allows a company to make its product or serve its customers. These employees also collectively comprise one of a business's most valuable asset - its culture. The culture not only creates an effective work environment, it becomes part of its brand. Consider the the culture at Google. Yes, some might argue working at Google isn't much different than going to summer camp, but if you dig a little deeper you find a company that is truly invested in its employees. Blogger and Google employee Avinash Kaushik provides some insight.

It is the responsibility of the firm's leaders to adopt and set the culture. A culture which genuinely promotes positive values will encourage employees to give their best effort and attract clients to give their business. But how do the company leaders cultivate such an environment?

Recruitment.

Any HR manager worth his/her salt knows finding new hires who match the culture is both vital and difficult. One hiring mistake can be toxic to the rest of the office. Zappos is one company who recognizes the importance of having the right people on the bus. After one week of training, new employees are given "The Offer" where they are offered their earned wages and a $2,000 bonus - to quit. Suriprisingly 97% of new hires turn down The Offer and go on to be effective team members (presumably).

While not all companies can commit to offering a bonus to departing employees, hiring managers can employ tactics to screen candidates based on the values held by the company. Alan Hall's article for Forbes provides some effective advice for matching potential hires with the existing climate.

Putting in a bowling alley or offering to pay for an employee's degree can certainly help create a positive work environment but to quote one of my past supervisors, "If I hire self-motivated people, I don't have to worry about motivating them."


-Dave