A Company Culture is a set of shared beliefs and aspirations that serves as the basis for decision making and behavior within an organization.

There are several famous Company Cultures - Nordstrom's has a culture of exceptional customer service, FedEx has a culture of getting shipments delivered on time, and Google has a culture of innovation and fresh thinking.

Every company has a culture - for the benefit or the detriment of the business, and it will not automatically align with the company's goals.

A positive and pervasive culture:

• starts at the top of the company - with the vision
• is visible in behaviors at every level of the organization
• matches decision-making to the goals and values of the organization
• provides the mechanism for sustainability and consistency in the organization
• is reinforced through leadership style, rewards and recognition

Is your company's culture aligned with the company's goals and vision?

The best way to find out is to ask the employees what they see as the organization's defining goals, and then ask them to rank them in order of importance. If their answers don't match the vision you hold, it's time to create a plan to change the culture.

Changing the culture must be a gradual process.  It is created through leadership and reinforced with the motivational tools embedded in your organization. You must involve all levels of the organization and invite them to participate in the change.

The positive change, once begun, is perpetuated through shared successes, improvements and rewards.

Edgar H. Schein, author of Organization Culture and Leadership, wrote, "A leader can impose new ways of doing things, new goals and means, can change reward and control systems, but none of those changes will produce culture change unless the new way of doing things actually makes things better and provides the members a new set shared experiences.”