Business Culture is like Yogurt

According to WHFoods:

"Yogurt is a fermented dairy product made by adding bacterial cultures to milk, which causes the transformation of the milk's sugar, lactose, into lactic acid. This process gives yogurt its refreshingly tart flavor and unique pudding-like texture, a quality that is reflected in its original Turkish name, Yoghurmak, which means "to thicken."

Business cultures are a lot like yogurt. You start with people who need to get something done, you add some processes, goals and even add or take away people and there's a transformation. There is culture. Sometimes it's tart, sometimes it's bland, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Let me list some ways Yogurt and culture are alike:

• Grows and changes. Every business culture grows and changes. Some grow and change in directions that actually produce better results. Some, unfortunately, do not. Every business culture, however, grows and changes. Just add or subtract one person, or merge with another company or division and experience the growth and change.

• Sometimes it needs stirring. Yogurt has a habit of separating and sometimes you need to stir it up. Many business cultures have the same issues -- they separate (get away from the mission), they get out of sync, they create silos and they don't perform as well as they need to. Many times leaders of this type of culture need to stir them up. New projects, new organization, a strong look at how we do things and changing it all help to stir up the culture.

• Clabbers. Yes, business cultures like yogurt have some issues. They get in a rut, they get gummed up and if you let them just sit there long enough, they just clabber. Many leaders seek change just to stop the clabbering of their culture. Or, they develop new markets or something to stop the process. Sometimes fresh ideas from people you don't expect help break down the clabbering process. Whatever your strategy make sure your culture doesn't clabber.

• Sometimes you need to add nuts, fruit or sprinkles. Plain yogurt can be boring and many times we in business simply allow our culture to become the just more of the same. Many times we need to add some extra ingredients to spice things up, open the proverbial box or ask the '800 pound gorilla' questions. I have a consultant friend who just comes out of left field with ideas and questions. He's a great addition to any team and provides the "nut factor" some need to get moving in a positive direction.

Business cultures are alive. They change, they grow, they shrink and they need leaders who are willing to do what it takes to preserve the good, break down the bad and continually help them focus on the mission, growth and execution of the plan.

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