How can a startup maintain its culture as the company grows up?

Culture is considerably more than dress codes. In my work with startup firms for many years, I can say with confidence that culture is quite important yet very difficult to maintain in a growth mode. Further, a firm can let its culture easily go into a destructive mode that once there can be very difficult to change.

Dress code is one element of culture. But there are many others. I include things like the way decisions are made, how people treat one another, when the work day begins and ends, how meetings are conducted and how long they last, how employees communicate with one another and how management communicates with employees and vice versa. If you are the founder of a startup and don't care about the culture you have in your company, you are missing a major area of concern that can inhibit your growth.

I would start with two key areas and then work down. The key areas are how decisions are made in your firm and how management communicates with employees. As management, you should be aware of the human fact that employees will emulate what you do, as your children do in your home. If management makes decisions in a political way and dumps the consequences downward, expect your employees not to respect you or one another. They will also spend much of the work day watching their backs rather than working to grow the business. If you fail to communicate interactively with employees and take into account their concerns and suggestions, why would powerless employees care much about you or the business and stick their necks out for you. If the person stepping out of line to contribute is criticized rather than encouraged, why would they do this again?

My suggestion is to have a meeting with your key managers and employees and pose this question to them: What kind of culture do we want and are willing to change our behavior for. Once you have a list of shared values, such as better communication or personal respect, respecting people's family life, etc. then Management has to act every day respecting these values, without fail. If employees see this respect from on high, they will be encouraged to behave in constructive ways and in conformance with the culture. Eventually, employees will become proud of a constructive culture where they can see the results of their work and suggestions and receive positive feedback from their managers and fellow employees.

I would like to have a dollar for every time I have heard a person say to me that they work for a poorly managed company and cannot understand why management makes so many stupid decisions. My guess is that management does not want to make stupid decisions, but in their culture are so disconnected from their employees that they don’t know right from wrong in how to discover the real facts and take appropriate actions. This can be avoided with the kind of culture I am expressing here.