Does Your Culture Create A Legacy?

Every day we are either making or breaking habits. Research tells us that in 21 days we have the ability to create new habits or reinforce old ones.

Enter the corporate culture – the breeding ground of new habits, practices, and behaviours. In 21 days, a corporate culture could, in theory, be able to deconstruct old habits or build up new ones.

That is a powerful tool in my opinion.
Think about it. Our companies could be responsible for building habits that could create a huge shift in people’s personal lives and, in effect, the world.

We could create habits of sustainable consumption by only allowing reusable containers in the office. Goodbye garbage cans filled with green and white cups and take-away boxes!

We could create habits of intentional time management and goal setting by ensuring every meeting request is sent with an end goal. “By the end of the meeting, we should be have completed y and z.”

We could create habits of integrating work-life-play by introducing flexible working hours, team off-sites where significant others and best friends could be invited to join for part of it, or meetings that include attending a fitness class together. Would people then need to “reacquaint themselves” with their family and friends or healthy lifestyle come the weekend?

We could create habits of generosity and benevolence by allowing each employee the option of having part of their pay automatically donated to a charity of their choice. What if our motto was “we pay you more so that you can donate more”?

Our world contains over consumption, obesity, unsustainable lifestyles, families that never see each other, depression, disease, “lost souls” looking for a purpose, bullying, and difficult or limited access to education and clean water.

A question we should all be asking ourselves is “Does my corporate culture create habits in our people that will advance the world in a meaningful way?”
My wish is that the answer is yes. If it isn’t, its our responsibility as leaders to do something about it.

What legacy is your company leaving?

This guest post was written by Matt Corker.

Matt Corker has a serious addiction to big ideas, bold goals, and strong communities. After working for the University of British Columbia in alumni and student affairs, Matt was drawn to lululemon athletica – a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company that creates components for people to live long, healthy, and fun lives. In his role of Leadership Development Advisor, Matt was responsible for delivering new-hire orientations, overseeing their internship program, and creating professional development opportunities that empower their great staff to achieve their dreams and live a life they LOVE! Matt has a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management and International Business from the Sauder School of Business at UBC and is now completing his MBA at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. He has a big heart for new technologies, inspiring minds, and giving out great high fives. More information about Matt can be found at http://thatsacorker.com.