Sometimes I’m not sure how much I believe this and other times I think there’s nothing I believe more.
I’ve worked in a number of organizations where there was a huge push towards making sure that the culture was top notch. There were expensive coffee makers, nerf guns, and whiteboards everywhere. And yes, in one place there was also a Foosball table.
While these organizations were ultra focused on the idea that culture is an integral component of a successful company they didn’t have a f@cking clue how to make that culture stick.
Culture is not the quilt or duvet that sits on top of a perfectly made bed. Culture is those stupid slats that sit under your mattress and hold it up (presuming of course that your bed is from IKEA).
The thing that most of these places got wrong was that they tried to take the work as it was and add culture but when the work sucks, no amount of cappuccinos can fix that.
Fix the work first. Make sure that the work that you’re asking people to do is worth doing, aligns with their talents and goals, and is clear enough that they can execute on it. In organizations where the work is good, culture is easy. Cheap designer coffee is no match for a well resourced team with clear objectives.
Before you even THINK about spending your time and money and resources on new toys for the office, ask yourself if you’ve given your team everything they need to do their best work. THAT is what great culture really looks like.