Mar 15, 2012

Lessons from Goldman Sachs: The Corporate Culture Disconnect

Goldman Sachs got a black eye this week when Greg Smith, a mid-level executive at the brokerage firm not only resigned, but published an op-ed piece in the New York Times outlining his reasons for leaving. Mr. Smith cited Goldman Sachs’s culture of greed and utter disregard for the best interests of its clients. 
Not surprisingly, this very public display of dissatisfaction has generated plenty of discussion about corporate culture on Wall Street. I hope it also has the effect of generating discussion within your firms about your corporate culture. After all, it’s better -- and less costly -- to learn from someone else’s mistakes.
Here are a few ways to avoid the cultural disconnect that appears to exist at Goldman:
  1. Don’t believe your own hype. Every organization I’m aware of boasts about its corporate culture on its website, at seminars, in recruiting collaterals, everywhere. All too often, the words are taken as gospel, with no regard for how individual behaviors actually create or destroy a culture. Look at your firm culture with a critical eye. If you and yours can’t do it objectively, hire an outsider to do it for you. Whatever you do, don’t assume that because it is written, it is true.
  2. Check in regularly with those who create and sustain your culture: your team members. Use every method at your disposal, from dashboard “high satisfaction day” inputs to surveys to a casual conversation over a cup of coffee. Do this more than you think you have time for and would enjoy. You may discover valuable information that’ll make it worth your effort.
  3. Treat your clients and team members with respect. No exceptions. When you are cordial to a client on the telephone, only to hang up and have a hissy fit about that stupid, entitled #!?*-ing client, you’re sending a very confusing message to those who work with you. You’re also taking the risk that the client will hear about it on Twitter, Facebook, or some other way -- within minutes.
Most important, do the right things for the right reasons. Speak well of everyone when you can. When you can’t, take the opportunity to be silent. When you must communicate something negative, do so with skill and kindness. That’s how really great cultures are built.

Mar 2, 2012

Falling Down the Should-Hole: Part 2

In the last post I mentioned Albert Ellis, the psychotherapist who was known for his disdain for “shoulding.” I talked about shoulding on others in that post. Now, we need to talk about shoulding on yourself, as in:
  • “I should be making more money.”
  • “I shouldn’t have said that to my boss.”
  • “I should have handled my employee better than I did.”

Shoulding on yourself is as unproductive as shoulding on others. It’s a waste of time and energy, because you give yourself no alternative to the should. There’s nothing proactive or well thought-out about “should.” It just sits there in your mind, judgmental and incomplete. Useless.
But if you simply must should on yourself, and we all do from time to time, I recommend simply extending the conversation beyond your initial statement. For example, instead of just saying, “I should be making more money,” take the conversation in your head farther. “Really? What makes me think I should be making more money, especially in this economy? Has anyone else been making a ton of money lately? How is my situation different from all these other people?”  
Answering these questions allows you to gather important data, which allows you to make informed decisions and act on them. If you’re anything like I am, the question-and-answer process will relieve you of a bunch of negative self-talk about whatever challenge you’re facing. When you stop should-ing on yourself, you get more clarity. And that’s how you find a path leading out of the should-hole and toward positive change.