Man's Search for Meaning

"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life -- daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." [Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning]

Life is meaningful, yet the meaning is different for each person and it changes more often than one might think. Recognizing that life is meaningful is important for a successful navigation on the road to happiness.

People's ultimate quest is to the fulfillment of their personal version of what success looks like. Part of that conversation revolves around where people spend their time -- that's why culture is such an important part of work.

They call it the soft stuff, the touchy-feeling thing that at best gets a summer picnic and a holiday party in the winter. While it's great to have opportunities to come together in informal settings and celebrate, culture is so much more than that. If we take a look at the definition on Wikipedia (emphasis mine):

Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate,") generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance and importance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity.

Anthropologists understand "culture" to refer not only to consumption goods, but to the general processes which produce such goods and give them meaning, and to the social relationships and practices in which such objects and processes become embedded. For them, culture thus includes technology, art, science, as well as moral systems.

We spend a lot of time at work, some spend a lot of time creating new ways of working that affect social changes. A company's culture matters to its bottom line -- whether people have a way of employing skills, talent, technology and processes to advance ideas in products and services and can use values as a compass to gage direction is vital to the health of a business. Mike Wagner calls it Own Your Brand!

The interesting discussion on the Web 2.0 World being skunk drunk on its own kool-aid launched this week by Steve Rubel has inspired many comments from people to define and find meaning of actions with words. One comment by Evelyn Rodriguez really struck a chord with me:

About 18 months ago, it seemed to be a pivotal point here. Historically I thought it was like Florence maybe before the Renaissance. After a while you have so much wealth and so many riches from wool trade and the new world of banking finance, that they started applying that wealth towards the beautification of the city spreading the abundance into artistic, spiritual, and cultural endeavors too. However, as the economy (particularly Web 2.0 / VC-driven) kept getting better over the last 18 months that is not at all what happened here -- it seems rather that those with the cash use their wealth to pour it back into other startup ventures -- either their own, or as an angel.

To those who think that culture is the soft stuff, that culture can be dealt with if there is any time left over I say -- boo-ho. Culture matters a great deal. This whole conversation on social media is not about new shiny tools, it's actually about how we find meaning within new dynamics for relationships, connections, friendships, and markets, even the news cycles -- globally. The catalyst that allows so many people to start their own business today is technology; the reason is meaning. They are busy leaving behind bureaucracies that do not serve the people they were created to assist right when and where they need assistance.

"Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." [Viktor Frankl]

Comments

[Karen Hegmann]

Valeria

I agree with you in that a company's culture matters to its bottom-line, but I have to wonder why it is that so many companies continue to thrive in spite of the fact that their culture is "toxic", and that they continue to underutilize people's key skills and talents.

For various reasons (sometimes fear based), people continue to put up with bad situations in the workplace for fear of losing their jobs. This creates a culture of "fear", and only the confident few will find greener pastures elsewhere.

During my career, I've often found myself wondering about the meaning of many situations. Every day I hear stories of toxic bosses and workplaces, and it's making the lives of otherwise happy people quite miserable. In many cases, people who are responsible for this negativity unfortunately get promoted. In these cases, task fulfillment is the only thing that matters to these companies, and the bottom-line is actually increased as a result of this behaviour.

Perhaps the people who contribute to a negative culture should read Viktor Frankl's wonderful book.

[Joe Raasch]

Hi Valeria,

This topic is central to a lot of conversation, isn't it?

I agree with Karen's post: many companies thrive with a seemingly toxic culture. Where these companies may be doing right is knowing what they want, creating that culture, and then executing on the strategy. I don't agree with their methods - I do applaud their process.

Imagine if a company said, "People are our greatest asset" and backed that up with relevant actions! These toxic companies rarely portray themselves as anything other than toxic on the inside - so people know what they're signing up for. Why they continue to do so is a mystery.

Some additional resources:

Dr. Alex Pattakos is a Viktor Frankl scholar. His blog at http://globaldialoguecenter.blogs.com/meaning/ is a great connection. I also recommend his book, "Prisoners of Our Thoughts".

Seth Godin's post titled, "End you tasks, end your job?" is another view.

Thank you for your continued insight and furthering the conversation!

Cheers, Joe

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Karen -- I think it's the same reason that some sales people use FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) in their pitches; it works enough times to think it will continue to work all the time. Of course, they do not see or experience how much better it would work with a different approach. Think about a mash up of MBA programs and a culture of "entitlement" and you can see how unless the pain from toxic is felt deeply and personally, that is the default position. It doesn't mean that people do not feel the need and desire for a different approach -- that is what they say to products and services that do not meet that need. It just hasn't caught up with the companies making those products/services as connected.

@Joe -- oh my, I wish companies stopped using language that does not reflect practice. Thank you for sharing resources, I will explore both. We are all craving action, making things right...

[Carolyn Ann]

Culture... Such a strange term. Some, like Metlife, sponsor cultural events. (They also sponsor golf tournaments, so go figure!) Others, like one company I worked for, spoke often about their "collegial" culture. (I didn't know, than, that that ridiculous phrase stood for "asinine political backstabbing!" I do now.)

Corporate culture can affect so much; Harley Davidson, when they affected their turn-around concentrated on two things: their own corporate culture, and creating a new culture around their brand. They considered the two things to be different - and they are. I look at how Harley-Davidson resuscitated themselves, and I look at how Ducati's corporate culture operates... And I know that Ducati's will be an exclusive, and excellent, machine for quite some time. :-)

(Ducati's corporate culture is described very readably by David Gross, in "Fast Company". I somehow doubt the company he talks about is Moto Guzzi!)

But what does the average consumer care for the corporate culture? They don't; I wanted to know how Ducati's were created: Mr Gross was kind enough to write a book about his experiences, and it was published when I wanted to know. Fortuitous, perhaps? :-)

On the other hand, I once had the unenviable job of explaining IBM's communications protocols to an "apprentice". I didn't actually explain the protocols: I explained how IBM was structured, and how they thought. (At that time - I hasten to add!) After that, the protocols and the logic behind them was explainable. Believe me: it isn't, otherwise.

But when I buy an Apple computer, I'm not particularly concerned about their corporate culture. Actually, I don't a hoot. I know something about it, simply because I pay attention to these things. But as a consideration in my purchase decisions? Not a factor. Steve Jobs created an external cultural reference to sell his products, which is a bit different to Harley-Davidson.

Microsoft is endlessly tooting how they employ these incredible geniuses (geniuii? :-) ); but the products don't match the perception, created by popular culture, of what a genius should produce. Apple, somehow, manages to convey both a genius and a rebel with their "think different" campaign. Which is such a success it's become a popular cultural reference in its own right! (When was the last time anyone thought about Microsoft advertising?)

People will buy into a perception of culture more than they will buy into anything else. Harrod's has, for quite some years, exploited that fact very successfully. You can get many of the products they sell elsewhere, and cheaper. But walking into the neighborhood with the Harrod's groceries, or having their delivery van turn up? It's still the bees-knees for many. It's not the products they sell, it's the entire cultural reference. People pay for it, and gladly! (Heck, when I lived in London, Harrod's was my regular Saturday afternoon event!) I guess Nordstrom's is a sort-of-not-that-far-off US equivalent, but without anything like the cachet.

Harley-Davidson, getting back to them, created a factory where workers could feel they were contributing to the company. Not so much to the bottom line - that's fairly unimportant to many people - but to the satisfaction that people got from the products. They sold over 350,000 bikes - in the US - last year. (For comparison, Ducati sold a little less than 34,000, worldwide!) "Queer Eye" just had an episode where an NYC firefighter showed Carson an entire closet of Harley-Davidson clothing. This is beyond brand recognition: this is a culture, all of its own. But if, say, Ford suddenly came out with a factory's worth of clothing - they would be perceived as frauds, trying to create what doesn't exist: not enough of their products are "special" enough to elicit more than a bewildered grunt that it actually exists. (The bewilderment coming from the bemusement that such a product actually exists...) BMW worked hard t create a culture around the Mini; they didn't exploit any of their existing cultural references.

Now, how you create a culture... That I'll leave to those who know what they're talking about. Like Valeria! :-)

Carolyn Ann

PS Sorry, I got a bit carried away! It started as a small post, but, like me, expanded a bit, unintentionally... :-)

[Valeria Maltoni]

Clearly, everything is perception -- we see the world as we are. So we have a personal philosophy about culture and a sense of what the right culture (or fit) means for us. Culture informs brands, and is distinct from them.

To give you a local example, W. L. Gore & Associates (makers of Goretex) is an extremely flat organization where people join projects on the basis of interest -- "our culture is a model for contemporary organizations seeking growth by unleashing creativity and fostering team-work." They have 8,000 associates in more than 45 locations around the world; it's not a problem of scale, it's a problem of leadership and attitude.

From their site: "Everyone can quickly earn the credibility to define and drive projects. Sponsors help associates chart a course in the organization that will offer personal fulfillment while maximizing their contribution to the enterprise. Leaders may be appointed, but are defined by 'followership.' More often, leaders emerge naturally by demonstrating special knowledge, skill, or experience that advances a business objective."

Does it matter to consumers? I think you say it yourself -- yes. While we may not be conscious of it, it shines through in the products.

[Mike Wagner]

Valeria, thanks for the kind mention in this post.

What a wonderful conversation you have launched with these reflections!

As a resource I'd recommend Edgar H. Schein's book, "Organizational Culture and Leadership".

Worth the read.

Keep creating,
Mike

[Valeria Maltoni]

Affinities are cultivated, that's why culture matters. Wherever we go, that's where we are... Thank you for the resource, Mike. Always good to have you here.

[Todd Jordan]

I'm in the camp that corporate culture matters to consumers even if they don't realize it. The key is that culture is reflected in the goods and services of the corporation.

Perception is everything though. if consumers think the folks making the latest jeans understand the 'in' culture then they will buy those clothes. As items become more technical or specific however, the perception must be that the company understands that speciality and it's core users.

And what is the key differentiating factor when all other things are equal? Image. What is the culture most aligned with your own?

Taking this in context of employees though, it becomes a little different. People that will always be 'employees' would love to shop by image, but that works both ways. Employers want a certain image also when they hire the next person through the door.

So employee types, myself included, would love to go work for a company with the right image. You'd think that's easy enough. Sadly though, the image of the company I'd love to work for is not a common one, and I'll wager many folks feel the same. So what we look for is the one's that are least disturbing. And we go beyond image, to what's behind it, to the real culture. And we hope we find the least scary one to work for.

For many of us that is as much a motivating factory to not jumping as money or vacation factors. The culture of the organization is really most important.

Will they treat me as a person and not just a resource? Will my creative side be nurtured, or ignored? Will I be challenged or not?

okay, enough for now, but I agree very much that culture matters in lots of areas. Let's go build on it.