Professional Documents
Culture Documents
com
A KERWIN RAE EBOOK
HOW TO
BUILD
CULTURE
THAT WINS
kerwinrae.com
CONTENTS
4 bond boosters 09
THE BENEFITS OF A
STRONG CULTURE
It’s important to understand that businesses with a strong culture generally
experience higher employee retention rates and higher productivity and profits,
which drives faster revenue growth.
“The values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological
environment of an organisation.
03
is a level of transparency about who the organisation is at
a grassroots level, why we do what we do and where we’re
headed, and as we all know, like attracts like.
VISION
A vision and/or mission statement that communicates very clearly
and simply the values of the organisation is a foundational element of
culture. Example: Our Kerwin Rae mission is “To create the world’s most
exclusive network and tribe of elite business owners and conscious
entrepreneurs with over 600 K2 Elite by 2020.”
VALUES
Your organisation’s values are the core of your culture and authenticity
is key. Example: “We respond quickly.”
PRACTICES
This is where the values are reflected in your organisation’s day to day
practices. Example: Open communication practices.
PEOPLE
Your people, your team, need to share the core values.
Example: Recruiting people who demonstrate their values align with
your organisation’s.
NARRATIVE
The power of the narrative is an organisation’s unique history and/or
unique story. The narrative becomes more powerful when retold as part
of a business’ evolving culture. Example: Kerwin Rae was established in
2000, our first office was in North Sydney and we now live in the heart
of Pyrmont. Kerwin Rae is an international business educator.
PLACE
Elements of place, like geography, architecture or design impacts on the
values and behaviors of people in their working spaces. Place shapes
culture, for example open architecture encourages collaborations.
Example: Our open plan offices promote easy collaborations.
TIGHT TEAMS
GET RESULTS
With technology enabling us to work anywhere and everywhere at all hours of the
day or night, a lot of people are questioning whether it’s essential to have a one-place
team work space.
My take on it is I think wherever possible it’s important to work together because tight
teams get results.
Do I make exceptions? Yeah I do, but it’s very rare because here’s what I’ve learnt.
The real team culture is built when there is a friction of bodies in the
same place.
By friction I’m not talking about negativity I’m talking about the energy
that’s created when people come together.
This generates the vibes, the essence and the feeling of the company.
So I think it’s really important to ensure a company has a lot of contact hours together
to create that friction.
But it’s important that that friction is producing good energy. This starts at the top
with great leadership, leadership that is calm, assertive and strong.
So in my books – create a strong culture by keeping your team together and the
results will speak for themselves.
The job market is huge and with the rise of technology, employees have more
options than ever and can now even work all over the world. So the question is, why
would anyone want to work for you? If you don’t know, let me tell you…
Just because you’ve made the decision to get into business, it doesn’t mean people
are going to be flocking to work for you.
The job market is insanely huge, and with employees wanting to work from home and
during the hours that suit them, you have to be worth working for in order to get a
look in.
One – you pay them. Seems obvious right. You put a job on Seek, people apply for
the job, they come in, they have the skills you’re looking for, you hire them and then
pay them to perform the required function.
But what happens when things get difficult or hard? What happens when other
priorities pop up?
Are they going to sacrifice your priorities for their own? After all, the only reason why
they are there is because of the money which they can get from a whole range of
different sources.
People like to work for something bigger than themselves that makes them feel good
about what they do.
You need to define what you stand for and then learn how to communicate it with
your team in a meaningful way. And you can do that with these steps.
When defining values most people look at how they would like
to be, not how they are, and to me this is nothing more than
aspirational.
When you’re clear on the purpose, mission and values you can
then communicate them to your team and during the interview
process in a very compelling way. All of a sudden you have
people who are sitting in front of you who are talent – who don’t
do a job because they get paid, they do it because they love it
and they’re just looking for the right home that they can put their
bags in.
DAILY HUDDLE
We meet each morning listing our top 3 tasks for the day and
acknowledge the previous days tasks as; done, not done or in progress.
WEEKLY CHECK-INS: INDIVIDUAL TEAM MEMBERS WITH TEAM LEADER
Team leaders meet one-on-one for 15 minutes to check in on tasks
weekly progress.
You have got to remember that by creating a strong culture you are supporting and
retaining your team of high performers, and the results will speak for themselves. And
logically, how much time, money and energy is saved with good solid team retention.
Lots. Lots and lots.
4 BOND BOOSTERS
Understand, it’s your talent and your team that in the long run are going to give you
the level of freedom you aspire to, in order to do more of the things you love and
the things you’re good at. These are the people that are going to enable you to
drive your purpose forward.
The reality is we spend more time with our team members than
we do with our own family and for me it’s probably fair to say
that these people have become part of my family because of the
sheer amount of hours we spend together.
So, you’re in the office and one of your team members isn’t there
and you speak really poorly about them, it’s fair to say that a
couple of people might look at you and go, “Woah that’s a bit
harsh. I wonder if they talk about me in the same way when I’m
not here”.
04 DO THE UNEXPECTED
For me this is about giving back, and there are so many different
ways you can give back to your team.
I randomly told the guys a few weeks ago that I was buying
everyone in the office a thick shake – now it’s turned into a ‘thick
shake Friday’ ritual. I mix it up and occasionally do a fat Kit-Kat
Thursday. Or I’ll buy lunch for everyone unexpectedly.
Yes it’s fair to say, ‘But Kerwin I give them a pay cheque every
week, I give them security, I give them a job…’
Yeah, but that’s the base line. If we are trying to build good
relationships, then we need to go that little bit further.
So my advice to you is find ways to give back to your team
today, and start doing things that are going to build a stronger
people who are going to help you achieve your mission and
help you fulfil your purpose. They’re worth it!
FIND WAYS TO GIVE BACK TO YOUR TEAM TODAY!
01
Internal clubs: Book clubs, sports teams, pub or restaurant
gang.
02
Charades: Break the team up into smaller teams to play
charades.
03
Scavenger hunts: Create clues and place them strategically
to be found by searching team players.
04
Truth or Lie: Team members come up with three truths and
one lie about themselves, other team members have to
pick the lie.
Somewhere there’s going to be laughter, and we all know that’s the quickest
communication and mood enhancer between people. Bond boosters are a nice
sticky way to create positive team connections.
Rae, Kerwin
Culture Ebook Version 2
First published & distributed December 2018 by Kerwin Rae
This is proudly a Kerwin Rae resource
Disclaimer
The content of this Culture Ebook is to serve as a general overview of matters of interest and is not intended to be comprehensive,
nor does it constitute financial (or other) advice in any way. This Ebook is a compilation of one person’s ideas, concepts, ideologies,
philosophies and opinions. You should carry out your own research and/or seek your own professional advice before acting or relying
on any of the information displayed in this Ebook. The author, and its related entities will not be liable for any loss or damage (financial
or otherwise) that may arise out of your improper use of, or reliance on, the content of this Ebook. You accept sole responsibility for the
outcomes if you choose to adopt and/or use the ideas, concepts, ideologies, philosophies and opinions within the content of this Ebook.