There is so much written about building an office culture.
There’s been books written on it.
Films written about it.
And consultants earning a fortune from it.
And I get it, because a good office culture is bloody important.
In the past I thought it was just about the people in the organisation rather than the organisation itself … but thanks to my experiences at HHCL, cynic and Wieden, I realise it’s as much about what the company stands for and how it behaves as it is the people they hire.
But recently I saw something that boils it all down to a very simple essence.
An essence that would mean those books would become pamphlets … those movies would become ads and those consultants become unemployed.
And why? I hear you ask.
Well, because the answer is simply this …
Can you see it?
It’s 4 words.
DON’T. BE. A. DICK.
OK … OK … I appreciate this might appear hypocritical coming from me, but that’s all it takes.
Don’t be a dick means respecting your colleagues.
Don’t be a dick means respecting everyones standards.
Don’t be a dick means respecting that everyone is trying to get to a good place.
Don’t be a dick is the simplest articulation of how to build a positive office culture.
Not just in terms of pleasantries.
Not just in terms of togetherness.
But in terms of the work you do as an individual and as a group.
It’s easy to get.
It can apply to every person in every situation.
It defines the standards of behaviour you should expect and give … from personal interaction to collaboration to making work.
It’s bloody brilliant.
So next time someone asks if they should hire a consultant to improve the office culture, just look them in the eye and say, “Don’t be a dick”.