Originally published in 2018. Updated in 2025 as part of the Personal Branding Blog relaunch under Brown Brothers Media.
The pillars on which you build the foundation of your brand are truly important. Another essential consideration regarding that fact is some pillars are more complex than others.
Culture is one of those sophisticated systems of support successful businesses employ to remain sustainable.
As a result, here is another aspect of business culture that can positively or negatively affect your brand’s bottom line.
What corporate culture really means
Often when discussing company or corporate culture, people are mostly referring to the qualities and characteristics found inside of a company. My previous article proved that convenience, while beneficial, is not enough.
However, there is one more detail inside of your company’s internal culture to consider: the way the people within think.
Companies in which their employees share a similar mindset, perspective, or thought process can have a decided advantage over those that don’t. It is in this type of system where collaboration, communication, and creativity can thrive.
The reason for this is simple – when all members of a team are on the same proverbial page, it usually makes it easier for any type of work to get done.
The groupthink trap
Nonetheless, in practice, what is found entirely too often is a homogeneous culture wherein the staff is mostly, if not all the same.
Additionally, this monotony generated manifests itself into groupthink: the practice of thinking or making decisions as a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual responsibility.
In an industry where your purpose is to sell products and services to diverse groups of consumers, this approach is not only counterproductive, it will likely stop your business from being able to scale and sustain.
And this is the perfect time to introduce a concept directly connected to a recurring, hot-button issue in the business world.
Why diversity of thought isn’t enough
Diversity and inclusion are topics that have been brought up for a very long time, and with so much of the conversation being led by the consumer, brands must be more active in fixing the problems they may have.
With this subject being so top of mind, an assertion that diversity of thought is the most important element of any solution to the problem.
The only answer to this point of contention is simple: diversity of thought alone will never be enough because, by design, society provides different experiences to different people and, in turn, that helps create different perspectives.
The better you can represent your consumer base completely, the better your chances are in crafting the messages that will resonate and convince them to give you their money.
Building culture inside and out
It is essential to cultivate the internal culture at and for your business. Yet and still, this is only half of the battle for every company with a goal of maximizing revenue.
Complete corporate culture integrates the experiences and thoughts of their consumers.
Now that you have the tools necessary for you to improve the culture inside of your business, when I return, I will introduce a means to incorporate the activities outside of your organization in a way that ultimately makes you money.
This article is part of Personal Branding Blog’s evergreen archive and has been reviewed to reflect current career and personal branding best practices. Learn more about our story here.
