-- All companies have a culture. Some cultures are good; others are bad. Some are productive, some destructive.

When I talk to businesss owners about their pain points 9 out of 10 times "people" come up in some way.

I was talking to a business owner the other day and he grew to more than 100 people. "I didn't give the culture question much thought until I started hiring people from different companies and industries. Pretty soon I noticed that employees sometimes brought with them old habits that didn't work in my environment. "
So what is corporate culture? There are several aspects to consider.
How far will you go for a customer?
How much do you expect from employees? Do salaried staffers regularly work 40 hours a week?

How do your people treat one another? What kind of performance is accepted at the company?
"When I first started in business, I thought I should like everyone who worked for me. Then I went through a period when I figured that I didn't need to like everyone as long as they were doing their jobs.
Now I'm back to requiring 100% likability. Why?

If I don't like them, other staffers probably don't like them either, and we can't all be wrong. Today my employees are all nice, responsible and dedicated. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Building a strong culture requires hiring the right people, firing the wrong people and managing the work environment. There's an old saying: "A fish rots from the head down." Corollary: It also rocks from the top.