Now that you have your purpose (vision and values) in place, it’s time to address our second priority – people! You know, the other humans that work with you, for you, and around you?

Leaders and organizations that thrive understand the connection between prioritizing people and success in business. But how exactly do we prioritize our people? One word…CULTURE. A great organizational culture is how we make sure our people are equipped and empowered.

Everybody wants their culture to be healthy and productive, as opposed to toxic and inefficient, don’t they? That makes sense. Who wants to work in a toxic culture? You never hear anyone say, “Going to work is amazing! Everyone gossips and backbites. It’s so much fun,” right? Nor does anyone want to say, “I went to work, did a bunch of stuff, but none of it mattered.” We don’t want to be busy just for busyness’ sake. We want to be productive and get results that matter, and we are guessing you want the same for your team.

This is why the issue of culture is so critical in today’s conversation. The younger generations are less and less loyal, in part because they watched their unhappy parents work for big companies, only to see them lose it all in 2001 and 2008.

As a result, this generation has shifted their priorities. First, Money and job title are no longer as important as happiness and engaging work that matters. The result of this shift in thinking is that if your culture isn’t healthy, people are much more willing to walk away. This is why we are seeing so many organizations prioritizing emotional intelligence (EQ), empathy, and personality fit, to create a culture that is enjoyable, healthy, and productive.

The second shift we have seen is the next generation’s view of what is considered respectful and admirable.  From the 1930s up to the early 1990s, Intellectual Capital was the currency. Why? Because the right information was scarce and expensive. If you wanted to be at the top of your game, if you wanted to dominate that niche market, then you needed to go to school and earn a Ph.D. Employers were hiring for one primary thing, competence.

However, Intellectual Capital is no longer the primary currency in today’s markets. Now, the new currency is Relational Capital. Why? Because, after the invention of the Internet, information was no longer scarce or expensive. Today, information is freely available and has been thoroughly commoditized. Although it took academia a few decades to figure out, EQ rather than IQ has become the new

What do these shifts tell us? They tell us that our culture matters! If we are going to build thriving organizations, we have to build thriving cultures that provide meaning and purpose beyond just a paycheck. We have to invest in the development of our people, and we need to create a working environment that is built on trust.

This week we’d like to invite you to take a hard look at your culture. Maybe it’s time to gather some of your key team members and ask the following questions: How are we developing people? How does our culture influence our hiring and recruiting process? What makes our people love working with us? These questions might take some time to answer, but the end result of great culture is always a stronger business and a better bottom line.