What does company culture mean?

Culture.

This buzzword has saturated the contemporary job market, but what is company culture? What does company culture mean? On job boards, “culture” often translates to free snacks in the kitchen and limitless vacation days, but that’s missing the mark. Culture is about your company’s identity – a set of shared values and principles. Culture is the heartbeat of your business.

In this episode of The Tony Robbins Podcast, you’ll hear from Tony on what it takes to create a raving fan culture – both internally with your employees and externally with your clients.

Building a culture of raving fan customers

In the first part of the podcast, David Meerman Scott, a marketing growth strategist who uncovered the building blocks of what makes people raving fans of certain organizations, dives into the true meaning of fandom. What is it that makes someone a true, loyal fan? His research found there are three requirements:

1. They’re eager to replicate the thing they’re a fan of.
2. They’re eager to spend time and money doing it.
3. The people who they share that fandom with are among their best friends.

Many organizations don’t believe they can build this sort of fanbase – but that’s not true. Any organization can build fans. David has found dentists and insurance companies with incredible fan bases.

The key is that people are hungry for true human connection. Most organizations treat customers as a number, grouping them all together and talking to them in the same way. But they really need to focus on and have a deep understanding of people – what motivates buyers, what makes that real human connection, what keeps customers happy.

Listen to the podcast for more on how existing organizations can tap into the power of fandom to create raving fan customers.

Building a culture of raving fan employees

In the second part of the podcast, we’ll hear from Daniel Coyle on why the best company cultures are built on trust. Coyle has dedicated his career to writing about the highest performing people and cultures on the planet, and he discovered one key to successful company culture that may surprise you: a sense of safety. When we feel safe, we feel certain. When we don’t feel safe, we shut down. The first thing a business has to do is send those signals of safety.

Coyle also talks about several common traps organizations fall into, including the trap of harmony, or the belief that the best company cultures transcend all problems, when the truth is that they find ways to navigate those problems together. Listen to the podcast for more surprising answers to the question, “What does company culture mean?” and learn how to start building your own productive culture today.