This is an excerpt post, see the full piece as it originally appeared on Wired.
Startup culture has received a lot of attention lately – people are looking for ways to improve the overall experience at work and some are even champions of seamlessly integrating work into their life. People don't necessarily have absolute power to demand a higher salary or more vacation days but they do have high expectations. By defining our startup culture, we can commit to better supporting the work itself, improve operations, make a more valuable contribution, and gain greater personal satisfaction.
What is startup culture?
Many first-time startup founders struggle to devote time to define their culture from the beginning, only to come to the painful realization that culture certainly has an impact on the operational side of business. I like to define startup culture by examining the company's identity, growth strategy, and relationships.
Know what you value.
You probably already have an idea of what you deem important for success. If you don't know which values to focus on, reflect on your positive and negative experiences with workplace culture in past situations and list relevant concepts and values. Values aren't something you have to put in writing for public display — but they should be something most people can relate to and routinely act upon.
Communication is equally important.
If you don't know why you get out of bed each day to go to work, neither will anyone else. Tell everyone what you value, why you value it, and make sure you actively follow through by acting upon it. The steps you take to demonstrate what you value confirm that you value it.
Relationships are essential.
When a candidate passes through your doors they are looking for red flags, which often appear in the form of a neglected or misguided culture. Surround yourself with people who identify with your values. People are your greatest asset and have the ability to help your culture thrive, or kill it altogether.
Don't create another cookie-cutter culture.
It's true that tangible perks can lure new hires, but without an established culture that defines the character of a company, that new hire might not be so impressed to work there once the initial excitement wears off. The best way to hire based on 'culture fit' is communicating the culture by reflecting your values through your actions.
Every once in a while I spot a cookie-cutter culture: a company founded on the basis of 'everyone here is awesome, and we're all alike.' You may indeed be awesome and have a profitable business, but eventually a lack of diversity is going to be an issue in the face of growth. Coworkers can be a good cultural fit and share the same values without having to be the same age, color, gender, size, or have the same education and experience.
The real trouble is many companies believe that hiring for cultural fit translates to finding someone just like all the other employees. That's a lazy way to focus on culture. When I ask people to describe their company values, many can't answer, and express concern that this is really what their culture is missing: the ability to articulate their identity.
Culture wasn't built in a day. Whether a growing company is defining its culture or an established company is redefining its culture, the important thing to remember is that workplace culture consists of the values, people, and communication of a company — it forms a community that thrives on the participation of all parties.