Culture Matters

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Defining Organizational Culture in Terms of Adversity

By Danita Bye
Founder/CEO of Sales Growth Specialists

Much is written about the nuts and bolts mechanics of building a strong organizational culture - how to promote esprit de corps, how to encourage your team to be more tenacious, how to see that your vision is faithfully replicated in the minds of those who follow you. It's all critical stuff, but it doesn't really touch on the foundational philosophy rooted deep in resilient and growth-obsessed organizational cultures everywhere. Call it the "why" of organizational culture, the trunk from which all the tips and techniques branch. Once you understand the pith of the matter, all the "do this, do that" mechanics of culture-building become self-apparent.

That core element is adversity. You might call it weak sales figures. Or poor morale. Or competition that won't rest until it drives you into the dirt. But generically speaking, it's all adversity. It's the reason you need a strong organizational culture in the first place. In fact, like the Sequoia, the world's tallest tree-and one of the most put-upon - adversity defines you.

When "Trouble" Is Your Middle Name, Strength Becomes the Last Word

Being a Sequoia is not for the fainthearted. Despite a full-grown height that rivals man-made skyscrapers, you're hollow underneath. Your roots are only about as thick as a human thumb and lie just inches under the soil. Because you thirst for water to the tune of 500 gallons per day, you must supplement seasonal rainfall with the moisture from fog. When you're young, you're prey to animals and the whims of the weather. Many of you won't survive 20 years. Worst of all, you'll never see the sun, never have access to nutrient-filled soil, and never germinate in the first place unless you're touched by fire.

Fire is the genesis and sustainer of the Sequoia - its alpha and omega. Lightning-instigated flames release seeds from their olive-sized cones, expose the soil they need to feed upon, and clear the canopy so that life-giving sunlight can reach the budding giants. And only by enduring the fire, channeling its destructive force into creative growth, can the Sequoia rise up and stand with its crown in the clouds for thousands of years.

Business adversity is your fire. It's the inferno where fit cultures are born. It's the blaze in which mature cultures burn bright. Without it, your culture is nothing more than the potential for greatness. But when you're touched by fire, the seeds of a towering organizational society can take root, grow, and remain upright in the face of almost any calamity.

The trick for a business leader, then, is not to avoid adversity, as so many spend so much time doing, but rather to assemble the right mix of people who can burn without being consumed. And, of course, to model a hardy approach to adversity, yourself. If you were a Sequoia, your spongy, two-foot thick bark would char and harden when the fires rage, becoming a heat shield that allows you to continue to grow and shelter those around you, who then take root and develop in your shadow. In turn, those seedlings you nurture become part of the vast, interlocking network of small, shallow roots that allow all of you to stand strong together as a unified organizational culture, whatever the wind blows your way.

High AQ Cultures Shine in Adversity's Flames

Author Paul G. Stoltz calls this tough, uncomplaining response to hardship the "adversity quotient." In his book, Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities, Stoltz says, "If we welcome adversity rather than shrink from it, we raise our AQ - and set in motion a virtuous cycle. High AQ translates into resilience, hardiness, and good health.''

To that, I'd add that this welcoming acceptance of the fire of adversity sparks the latent leadership tendencies that lie deep in those who follow us. Simply put, it's leading by example, and it's crucial to creating sales teams that take market share even when markets are hard. In fact, teams inspired to deal with adversity in this way often are at their best when the task before them is the most daunting they've yet faced. More than that, by gaining strength from hardship, they reinforce a root system that keeps the entire organization, including its leader, standing tall while others topple to the ground. In short, the culture of a business like this has a genius-level AQ.

Take the example of a company I know which sells hardware and services to banks - arguably a sector that's especially hard hit by the current recession. The leaders of this firm could have let this fire burn them to cinders, taking the organization with them. While their competition "hunkered down" and waited out the firestorm, these leaders waded into it. They embraced the flames, using adversity's energy to initiate penetrating market research. By doing that, they gained a deeper understanding of their key clients' and prospects' strategies for moving forward in the next three to five years. Rather than reacting to adversity with fear, this business looked into the fire, learned how it changed the business landscape, and used it to seed solutions to their problems.

Solutions in hand, this company's leader hardened his determination to implement them, come what may. Like the Sequoia, he toughened up his entire organization so that it could brave the fire's heat while turning its light to advantage. He ran his business by example, showing those he leads that urgent action was required to seize the market share this golden opportunity offered. He maintained momentum and modeled commitment by his unwillingness to accept excuses, often asking "What would you do differently if you couldn't use that excuse?" He used the fire of adversity to spark creativity and innovation.

Finally, just as the Sequoia uses fire to uncover the soil its seeds need to grow and burn away the overgrowth that stands between them and the sun, this company made the most of this opportunity to gain deeper and broader access to clients, using a major account strategy plan for each of its top 10 accounts and reinforcing relationships with existing accounts.

Adversity Is Both Fuel and Fire for Cultures That Rise to Any Challenge

Without adversity, this company's culture wouldn't be as strong and mutually supportive as it is. It wouldn't be as prepared for the next conflagration as it is. Its relationships with clients wouldn't be as profitable as they are.

In short, it wouldn't be the company it is and wouldn't rise to its true heights without adversity.

These days, the economic and competitive blaze is intense. Take the wrong attitude, accept the notion that adversity is something to shrink from, and you'll be consumed where you stand. Instead, value adversity. Be glad of it. Like the mighty Sequoia, use it to strengthen your organizational culture, shed light on budding leaders in your organization, and lay bare the opportunities that surround you on every side.