We were at a great event last week put on by the YJP network in NYC. President of AppNexus Michael Rubenstein and CMO of Gap Seth Farbman were on the panel discussing everything from how the mobile movement is changing their businesses to personal strategies for taking their businesses to the next level. Truly a great night filled with actionable insight.
When the panel session was done, I jumped at the opportunity to ask these heavy hitters a question of my own. “How do you create and nurture company culture and how important is culture to you?” Their answers were pointed, calculated and totally inspiring. Seth stated he didn’t think you can really “create” a culture, its part of a companies DNA and is nurtured by looking within… Michaels’ angle was in line with this but shared some interesting insight how a fast-growing tech company like App Nexus could leverage culture to power growth and innovation. Both agreed that as your business grows, company culture becomes more important, and more difficult.
From the perspective of being a business owner, I tend to agree with a lot of what Seth and Michael said. You don’t really create a culture, instead you present the values, goals and ideals that matter most to your business, and often to your life. Those who buy in are along for the ride, those who don’t buy in generally have, well, a short ride. When you have buy-in from those around you, that’s where you establish a culture. There in lies the secret sauce… a movement in unison, all going after the same thing, embracing the same ideals. That is where greatness begins.