In the answer to his question you mentioned that lowering the playing field, rather than leveling it, keeps us all employed. While I agree with this statement, the capitalist in me has to think that as I start my new company, I can promote a culture that is playing from higher ground and beat the competition. In return, I get a core competency that many companies won't be able to challenge for years. When I think about it more, this competency becomes a major focus of my new venture's mission statement, along with making money and providing a good product to the market.

My question to you is this: If you had a clean slate to work from and develop a culture of your own, how would you prevent your company from inevitably falling into the same trap that today's companies have fallen into? Because new technology becomes old and the processes we so vainly thought would be flexible begin to coalesce into stone, what can I do now to make sure I am not facing the same cultural doom that companies face today?

Thanks
Derek L.

Dear Derek:
I don't really think a person or a company can consciously develop a culture. A company's culture is a reflection of how the leadership acts toward its employees and its customers. So long as strong personal values of integrity and honesty are maintained and communicated, I doubt anything else matters very much; a good company culture will be the result. Assuming that your new company develops the type of culture you are seeking, then keeping it is a matter of maintaining the set of values that formed it in the first place.

Life is the greater equalizer, so achieving continued superiority over your competition will not be easy. Initially, you should certainly expect to be successful in your desire to gain an edge on your business rivals. After all, competing on that lowered playing field, it is perfectly reasonable to anticipate a winning effort. However, once you achieve your goal, I think you will find that as your business grows, you will install all sorts of rules and procedures to maintain your ability to win. Of course, you will need people who can help enforce those guidelines (which have an insidious way of transmuting themselves into dogma). At that point you will have someone come to you and suggest that what the company needs is a study of the company's culture to ensure that it has not strayed from your brilliant vision. Beware: Soon after, there will be a movement (perhaps by you--if you have forgotten the lessons of your youth) to develop a sophisticated mission statement. At that point you will be doomed.

The company president, to show his commitment, went first. We were all supposed to complete the form about him. He did review the results with us, was puzzled by many of the responses (i.e. "plays favorites," "hands out assignments without considering resource requirements"), and then decided which areas he would try to improve. Uh-huh.

Of course, no sooner had the 22 principles been published before we saw violations all over the place. In fact, the head of human resources was one of the worst offenders! And within a couple of weeks, one of our production heads, who had requested that more than 100 computers in his area be relocated, informed me he couldn't possibly shut down before 5 p.m. Friday and everything had to be up and running by 8 a.m. Monday. I guess the IT staff weren't going to balance home and family that weekend.

Such efforts are typical responses by executives who don't have a clue. People don't want principles, they want action.

Perhaps someday management will realize that employees are blessed with at least as much sense as your average dog--who learned long ago that you don't judge humans by what they say, but rather how they behave.

Leilani A.

Dear Leilani:
Yeah. Fascinating, isn't it, that all the bosses are in favor of providing leadership by example--"walking the talk" in the words of the industrial psychologists--as long as they don't have to get out of their very expensive swivel chairs to do so. These executives are great at preaching the importance of everyone working together, but they rarely follow their own advice--or that of the consultants whom they pay to analyze the attitudes of the troops.

Your president did show real commitment by volunteering to go first in the 360-degree appraisal session. I'll bet that he was thrilled with the honest and open feedback all of you provided about his habits. I just wonder if you folks furnished it anonymously or whether you had to sign your names. If you did, consider updating your resume.

Pat B.

Dear Pat:
Don't skin them. They need to make a living just as much as the rest of us. Just make sure that they work for someone other than you. Besides, with them out there competing against your firm, it's likely that your income will increase significantly as long as you get to present your proposal to their prospective clients. The contrast will no doubt earn you a lot of contracts.

I'm just curious because your "venting" sounds very familiar to me. It's almost as if you were reading my thoughts and putting them to paper--although your words are much more acceptable than the way I would phrase some of my thoughts.

I have just changed jobs recently and I am really enjoying my new position, but I seem to have brought some baggage with me. I don't know when it started but I seem to have picked up a real negative attitude about things. I know in my previous job, my co-workers used to bait me by bringing up a topic of discussion that had some contentious issue, and they would just stand back and watch me blow. They found this amusing that they could set me off so quickly. It didn't really bother me until I started thinking about it lately. I'm in a new job, one that I like, and all was going well--or at least I thought so--until my new boss made me aware that I was once again doing the "venting" thing. I was hoping that getting out of a job that was no longer satisfying would allow me to mellow out a bit, but no such luck.

I am the type of person who takes his job very seriously and I like to treat people the way I would like to be treated. The only conclusion I can come to is that I seem to be swimming against a fast-flowing stream. Most people do not show respect for their fellow man/woman and many show little, if any, pride in the work they do. I find this very frustrating, and, as a result, I think it is turning me into a bitter person. I don't particularly like this, but I'm having a hard time trying to "see the good side of things."

In any case, I was just curious if you too felt that you were becoming more of a pessimist? Or maybe it's just me, looking at the world through non-rose-colored glasses.

Surprisingly enough, I do enjoy joking around with my coworkers. I'd hate to think of what I would be like if I didn't have that humorous side to me.

Best wishes and keep on fighting the good fight.

David

Dear David:
I think you are correct that the column has been a little more "edgy" lately. Perhaps it is simply that the topics I have chosen to cover recently have that flavor. In any case, I know that I feel no more--or no less--pessimistic than before.

I am concerned, though, about your own frustration and bitterness. You know, there is a lot to life besides the aggravation we sometimes feel at work. You might want to consider taking a few days off and just relaxing. It sounds as if you have earned it. If you are like me, you'll find that upon reflection, the people we have to deal with are probably just as frustrated with their lot in life as we are--and we might as well just accept them with the failings they have as we continue to try to do the best that we can.

Best wishes,
Herb