Whether you know it or not, your company has a culture. When fostered in a positive manner, your company’s culture can be one of its most valuable assets. A company culture left unguided, however, can lead to stagnation, employee frustration and an unpleasant work environment. Here are a few of the reasons why your company’s culture is so important for its growth. David Milberg is a financial analyst in New York.

1. WHEN GROWING YOUR BUSINESS,
COMPANY CULTURE IS KEY
April 6, 2017
Whether you know it or not, your company has a culture. When fostered in a positive manner,
your company’s culture can be one of its most valuable assets. A company culture left unguided,
however, can lead to stagnation, employee frustration and an unpleasant work environment. Here
are a few of the reasons why your company’s culture is so important for its growth.
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF WORKERS
Companies depend on their workers to succeed, and business growth typically demands asking
for more from your employees. Too often, managers and owners focus on productivity metrics
and employee evaluations to find and retain the best talent but lose sight of the bigger picture. A
positive work environment boosts all workers, leading to a increased productivity across all
aspects of your business. Furthermore, a positive culture and environment helps you retain your
employees, ensuring that your most valuable assets stick around. In general, employee loyalty
isn’t as strong as it was decades ago, but companies that build a strong and productive culture
can see less turnover than their competitors.
EFFECTIVE BRANDING
When thinking about branding, many people think about logos, mottos and design elements.
However, a brand goes much further, and a company’s culture plays a key role in developing
effective branding. Business growth depends on standing out from the crowd, and your
company’s culture will shine through when your employees interact with the public. This
interplay can go both ways; when it comes time for a new logo or other branding element,
consider incorporating elements of your company’s culture into it. Doing so helps reinforce your
company culture with the public.

2. A GUIDING LIGHT
There will be times when people involved in your company seem lost. The business world is
difficult to navigate, and it’s easy to run into moral, financial and cultural dilemmas during the
course of normal business. A strong company culture gives you a beacon of light to help guide
your decisions, and a well-established culture can make challenging decisions much easier to
make. Furthermore, your culture can make future growth goals easier to understand; if your
business focuses on empowering employees to do more without strong oversight, you can focus
on ways to grow by leveraging the power of lower-level employees.
Too often, businesses are portrayed as cold and calculating entities concerned with nothing more
than the bottom line. In reality, businesses are thriving, vibrant collections of people, and they
develop strong cultures over time. Your culture can help your business develop its culture
organically, but make sure to guide it in a positive manner. Persistence can lead to a culture that
sticks, empowering employees and making the office a pleasant place to spend time.
David Milberg is a financial analyst in New York.