Mimeo Lounge

The Impact of Culture on the Company

Posted on October 22, 2007 at 8:47am, written by Jeff Grill, VP Marketing

Part of my job is attending many of the conferences that we sponsor.  In addition to the obvious opportunity to meet with prospects and customers, it gives me a rare glimpse into the workings of multiple industries.  One theme that struck me at the recent Selling Power (sales and marketing executives) and CLO (Chief Learning Officer) conferences is the amount of discussion on company culture and its role in attracting talent and driving progress.

The ability of culture to be a unique competitive advantage was described in Business Week magazine in an article by Michelle Conlin on the Netflix culture.  The article describes how the CEO Reed Hastings wanted to create an “adult culture” where there are high levels of personal accountability and freedom.  For example employees can take unlimited vacation time and set their own hours as long as agreed upon metrics are being met.  Success is also a shared experience since stock options mature on the date of hire giving all employees immediate “skin in the game.”

As a marketer we are responsible for holding up the mirror to the company and reflecting back an image of the company culture.  Mimeo also has a unique and evolving culture with each new employee altering the way we think about the company.  All of my recent experiences reinforce the importance of hiring people who buy culture first and position in the company second.  This is a thought that is reinforced in a rapid growth environment like ours where due to company growth your job responsibilities are guaranteed to change.  It makes hiring more difficult, but those that decide to join on this basis make for better long term employees.

Tags: business week, clo, culture, michelle conlin, mimeo.com, netflix, recruitment, reed hastings, selling power