Company culture transformation image of young office workers around desk
Leadership, Business
April 10, 2016

Company culture transformation

Marissa Levin, CEO of Successful Culture, on living your core values through culture

It’s the businesses that chase a vision that will truly change the world – and the market. But the vision must start internally. From the company’s employees to the company’s core values, every aspect of the business must embody your vision if you want to thrive. This is why establishing a powerful company culture has transitioned from something that is “nice-to-have” to a “must-have.”

But what is company culture? And what does a strong company culture entail? How do you develop and implement a set of core values? In this episode of the Tony Robbins Podcast, you will hear from company culture expert Marissa Levin as she discusses what it takes to create a thriving company culture and that can lead to a more fulfilling, successful business model.

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Who is Marissa Levin?

Marissa Levin is the Founder and former CEO of Information Experts, one of the nation’s most successful strategic communications, marketing, education and human capital firms. Under her leadership, the company won more than 80 awards and blazed the trail for the current conversation around work-life balance and company culture. She is also Co-Founder and CEO of Successful Culture International, an organization dedicated to helping leaders build extraordinary cultures and effectively manage change.

Marissa has been answering the question “What is company culture?” since before it became so common. While company cultures vary, she says “every company has a culture, whether it’s intentional or by default.” The smartest companies that want the top talent are intentional with their culture. If you’re not, culture could become one of your biggest pain points.

Defining and transforming company culture

A company’s culture is set by its core values. Every decision that’s made within a company is also driven by those values. Where do they come from? Ultimately, core values come from the heart and the mind of the founder and are passed on to leadership. A leadership team that lives and breathes the core values – for example, innovation, creativity or customer service – creates a positive company culture. Those who don’t leave a vacuum for negativity and cynicism to fill.

While company culture transformation comes from the top, it starts with taking the pulse of employees. What do employees think about leadership? About the culture? “100% of the time there is a disconnect between what the leadership team thinks is happening and what the employees think is happening,” Marissa says. From there, you take massive action. Go back to the drawing board. Look at your job descriptions and your hiring processes and begin to hire for your core values.

To create raving fan customers, you first need to create raving fan employees. As Marissa puts it, “If you can get the inside of an organization right, the rest of the business will flow.” Listen to this company culture podcast to learn everything you need to know about how to define, build and change your culture, plus how to improve employee productivity, retention and more.

Marissa Levin, CEO, Successful Culture

Marissa Levin, CEO, Successful Culture

EPISODE NOTES

[0:00] Tony introduces the importance of company culture to create raving fans
[6:08] Why culture is a company’s greatest competitive weapon
[7:22] Where do a company’s core values come from?
[8:31] Successful culture starts with hiring
[11:57] How do you attract the best talent?
[14:32] How can small businesses attract mission-driven millennials?
[17:15] How do you turn around an established company’s culture?
[19:28] How does a company measure employee engagement?
[20:51] What is the value of employee feedback?
[23:29] Creating raving fans within your company
[25:03] A small business success story
[26:56] Process-centric vs. Hero-centric
[28:57] Why B players are the biggest threat to an organization
[30:13] The Peter principle
[33:32] Understanding what an employee’s true gifts are
[35:21] Business trends that will stick around
[37:35] Engaging contractors in the company culture

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