The culture of any entrepreneurial business starts from the first day. It is a reflection of the values the entrepreneur brings into the business. Culture, being a vital part of every entrepreneurial venture, acts as a means to institutionalise the values of its founders. Culture serves to socialise new employees and they learn to treat customers, each other and many other things, such as how to fit in and be successful within the business.

Normally, smaller organisations are able to retain this culture of entrepreneurship. In bigger organisations, the moment you start to grow, complexity also grows and chaos emerges. And to put chaos to rest, process comes into function.

Now, when we start creating processes for everything, minimal thinking is required; the thrust is to eliminate mistakes. Then a market shifts happens due to competition, technology, socio-economic factors, and then the already-created process makes entire system bureaucratic as companies are unable to adapt the culture quickly.

Therefore if companies are trying to create entrepreneurial ethnicity, they need to focus on three things:

• Creating a culture of Self Discipline : People with this quality don’t require any guidance about what’s to be done. They will mostly act wisely and will do what is right.

• Freedom : The moment you bring people with self discipline, you can give more freedom, which will turn into an approval-free organisation.

• Push responsibility further down : There are myths in the organisation that the more control we put on ourselves, the more efficient we become and if people have power they will misuse it. But that’s not true.

The entrepreneurial nature of the organisation plays an important role in the success of a business. So it is important to sustain it by hiring the right person for the right position. It is essential to carefully screen prospective employees to ensure that they will fit within the culture.

An entrepreneurial culture is also about sustaining autonomy and respecting employees by maintaining consistent communication about the entrepreneurial vision for the company.

Creating an entrepreneurial culture creates a business that will continue to grow, provided changes are adapted and new opportunities are actively pursued in the market.

So, how is an entrepreneurial culture put in place?

In an organisation with an entrepreneurial culture, work is more a priority than the job; it becomes a lifestyle. Employees work like a team, share issues or problems facing the company and together try to resolve whatever comes in between the growth of the company and themselves. Employers need to place the following benchmarks in order to create harmony at the workplace:

• Respecting everyone : This is a very simple premise, which threads through each and every complicated issue that can arise within a company. Respect and trust provide the necessary base for a vibrant and sustainable corporate culture.

• Better Communication. Employers should create an environment where people can interact with each other, support each other and recognise each other’s efforts and achievements. Positive rewards should be given for positive behaviour. Sharing information with employees makes them aware of the direction of the company and they feel a kind of involvement with the place they work for.

• Forge comradeship. Make time for people to get to know each other and the company. Like an annual off-site meeting to build team spirit and discuss where the company is headed. At such events, one can also distribute and share the business plan and discuss issues and ideas raised by strategies.

• People without self-discipline or who do not fit in the culture should be asked to leave as early as possible.

Managers should not go through emotional turmoil in making sure that everybody is satisfied. They should be incentivised to construct ace teams. A person who has done great work in the past and is not suited for a role anymore should be given a kind severance package.

Sustaining Entrepreneurial Culture: Once the company has a group of trusted and informed employees, don’t let the culture that’s evolving just be. It needs to be watched so that it grows as intended. The trick is standing back, but not too far back. In maintaining the culture, consider these rules:

• Let the team build itself. Within that secure, open environment, let employees grow together without being made to.

• Involve yourself without controlling.

• Don’t forget the little things. Culture is made up of many small actions that, when put together, create something larger than the sum of the parts. There are many things a CEO can do to make employees feel a part of the company. Some are just common courtesies: hallway conversations, saying “hello” in the morning, opening doors, asking after people’s families and partners. Others are little extras, such as flowers to say thank you and happy-birthday e-mail messages. Eating lunch with employees, helping spouses find jobs and participating in team events shows that the CEO is involved with the employees.

Treating employees with respect enables them to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. If one challenges people to raise the bar, provides fun activities, keeps people informed and humanises the management, then culture will evolve. From these basics, there will be growth in the organisation that will generate a strong, healthy culture allowing oneself, the company and employees to flourish.

(The writer is Vice-President, Global HR and Talent Management, at Bristlecone, a Mahindra Group Company)

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