It’s the final day of our weeklong journey into “culture.”
We have talked about creativity, collaboration and curation. Our final destination is continuity.
Do you work for a company that drinks its own champagne? I’ve advised those companies, yo. My industry is thick with founder’s syndrome. Everything is great when you have a founder and a CEO who’s in the fishbowl conference room and inviting employees out for drinks. That man is visionary. That dude is sick. That bro-leader is amazing.
But what happens when he exits with a truckload of cash?
Plenty of organizations can survive a founder’s exit. Ask yourselves — who founded T-Mobile? Who founded Dollar General? Who founded Chick-fil-A?
I say — Who gives a shit? Those companies exist. They survive. Names don’t matter,
(Even beyond the grave!)
If you want to create an amazing company culture, think about how you can make succession planning come to life. Look at your leadership pipeline and ask them to forge a real and authentic connection with those kids — the slack-jawed poseurs in hoodies — who drive creativity and collaboration within your organization.
(Suddenly, succession planning isn’t an exercise in a dark room. It’s like an exciting, realistic Autodesk® Fusion 360™ drawing on steroids and hormones!)
If your company can’t move forward without its founder, you barely have a company — let alone a culture.