Over the last few weeks, I’ve read a number of articles on the culture of businesses and the role of the CEO as Chief Psychologist. I love the subject, I’ve read Delivering Happiness ten times over and still I can’t get enough of it. Given that it’s something which affects all companies, their staff and consumers – it’s still an area that is often done badly and worse still, over-engineered.

Who wants to be in my gang?

With the rise of the cool company, more offices than ever before are boasting shiny gadgets, games rooms and beer in the fridge to entice the very coolest kids to their working bunch. I’ve personally worked for a number of companies and don’t get me wrong it’s great. But it’s only great if it’s heart felt and genuine.

Building a business strategy around creating a cool culture is one that, in my opinion, will never succeed. Yes you can have your staff sitting comfortably in a lovely Aeron chair and the latest version of the iPhone in their mitts – but ultimately if it’s not in your core, not what you believe, not what you live and breath – it will never be sustainable.

Clock in. Clock out

To be seen as one of the cool web crowd, founders have stopped dropping vowels from their names and have taken to trying to create really cool working spaces with a “different vibe”. Whilst this is fabulous and beers will never be turned down, the shine starts to tarnish if the culture isn’t sewn through every part of the business. For example, enforcing a strict 9am-5pm regime to a non-customer facing role, when as part of your culture you’d be wanting them to focus on getting the job in hand done (often burning the midnight oil in the lead up to product releases) will start to cause a jar and the strain will begin to show.

Similarly, if you want to become a genuinely transparent company and to give your teams a voice – you can guide them, you can lead by example but you can’t control what they say. Ultimately, if you’re making the right hires for the culture of the business, you shouldn’t have to worry. Nobody is perfect, consumers want to know that there are humans behind the brand and sometimes that means them discovering your staff went for drinks on a school night – they probably do the same too.

Stop shouting, start doing

Not only are many companies now really good at creating their own ecosystems, they’re becoming bloody great at shouting about them. Self promotion has never been easier thanks to the likes of Twitter, Facebook and multiple video and photo sharing platforms.

Whilst this is amazing for communicating your culture and aiding recruitment, unless you really are living the life you’re selling, this can do more damage than good. Nothing worse than someone turning up to work at a weenie startup and being forced to create board packs and Powerpoint presentations (yuck!). Whilst you’ll get great people on board initially, they won’t become your advocates and essentially aren’t likely to stick around for as long as you’d like.

Company karma

Whilst you’re trying to stay cool, you’ll always be chasing for something outside of your control – after all “cool” changes and is very different in different people’s eyes. However, if you live by your “company karma” (I’ve just coined that phrase btw), this IS in your control and will be very hard to deviate from. Initially it will come from your core – the people that know what you’re trying to achieve and how you’re going to achieve it – but in time, through hires that fit, you’ll have a solid base for your company and all of the decisions that you make.

Of course, some of these decisions may challenge the norm, some people may think that you’re crazy, some people will tell you that they’d do things differently – but you’ll be confident in your choices, knowing that they’re right for you and your teams, after all, it’s come from your heart.

The companies that I really respect are those entirely focussed on producing amazing products, not those trying to be cool. That’s not something you can manufacture.

I’d love to hear your views on what makes a company successful, what culture means to you and how you think it’s sustainable as businesses grow. Please use the comments below and I promise I’ll respond

One last thought

The cost of a Macbook Pro: £1,649.00.
The cost of a pool table: £1,950.00
The cost of an iPhone 4: £499.00
A sense of belonging and passion: Priceless.

i know it’s a question so many of you have spent hours wide awake pondering at night. so i’ve taken an objective view and have recorded my findings for you here, my friends. please, no need to thank me.

Click here to view the embedded video.

really hoping this “crowdsourcing” thing takes off, i hear it’s pretty hot right now  help me out and suggest a topic in the comments below. the funnier the better, i don’t have dignity, it’s fine!

apologies for the delay in getting this posted, consider myself officially told off given your tweets and emails. it won’t happen again.

thursday hugs, M xox

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i’d love your input too in the comments below. don’t be shy!

happy thursday peeps xox

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in all seriousness, i’m so proud to be a part of the uk tech scene – often forgotten for the valley… there are some great things going on here! the techhub would be an awesome place for all of that talent to come together in one place… and it would make an awesome back drop for some of my videos

happy new year to you all, i hope that 2010 is treating you well… i’m having an operation next week and so it’s unlikely that i’ll be doing a video, but be warned, i’ll be back and kicking in no time, so don’t forget me!

love and hugs,

m xox

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as always, i’d love your input in the comments below and thanks to those who have already helped with the making of this on twitter

love you all xox

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i wonder if there are any help groups that exist…. hmmm….

happy thursday

xox

you can check out the interview below:-

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i’d encourage you to visit ryan’s site. other interviews so far include paul boag and drew mclellan, both truly amazing guys. ryan’s done a great job and i hear there are plenty more cool interviews to come, no doubt a lot more interesting than mine

me xox

1. gmail
2. google reader
3. twitter
4. facebook
5. google analytics
6. basecamp
7. skysports
8. own website
9. bbc
10. igoogle

the other sites, which all drew include delicious, techcrunch, randommel (bless your hearts!), flickr, online banking, google calendar, google docs, times online, lynda.com, forums, wikis, google alerts, magicseaweed, freelanceswith.com, visto.com, phpmyadmin.

on a completely different topic, i’ve had too much coffee today already and am a little over-excited about those interweb fairies again. i’m thinking that i want to do more with my site – post more regularly and mix it up. I REALLY NEED YOUR HELP. i’ve considered life casting (but my life isn’t all that interesting), i’ve considered product reviews (but i kinda love them all) and so i’d love to hear from you what YOU would like to see – after all, it’s all about you. i’d really appreciate you taking a few minutes to leave your comments below.

thankyou mucho xxx

okay, so for those of you who haven’t been, sxsw is an awesome festival that takes place each march in Austin, celebrating interactive, music and film (not necessarily in that order, but we all know i’m a geek!). it’s by far one of the most fun events that i’ve ever been to and i’ve made some amazing friends and had some amazing hangovers as a result.

a change

now don’t get me wrong. i don’t have a drink problem, i don’t go to sxsw just for the parties. i do actually attend the presentations and boy, there have been some amazing ones – from the Zuckerberg keynote to the lifetime of secrets with Frank Warren where i actually cried (not many people know that, i blamed it on hayfever, sorry if you’re one of those that i fibbed to).

now, i’ve got the partying off pat…. i can do it rather well… i no longer fall asleep on people or lean on poor Ryan King to hold me up. i know to take plenty of paracetamol and water ready for the next morning and it always helps to have you outfit pre-picked so that you can sling yourself from the shower straight into your clothes and off you go. you see, i’m a bit of a pro.

this year though, i thought how much i’d love to not be able to drink one night and be “one of those” that have to be sensible because they have a panel the next day. so i set about submitting my panel ideas and they have been accepted for the panelpicker. excitement doesn’t describe the emotion when i found out and my smile was stuck for a good day and a half (i think people thought i had wind).

the panels

i know that i’ve already pimped it out and to be honest, short of flashiing my gnashers one more time, there’s not a lot more i can do with that. but, i did think that it would be good to give you some more background about the panels themselves (always helpful hey?).

walking the tech runway in stilettos

Lickle old me, Aubrey Sabala (digg), Tara Hunt (Citizen Agency), Sally Strebel (Best Party Ever), Kirstie Wells

all about being a girl in a boy’s world. and succeeding. a fun and lighthearted discussion that prepares females for greater success by helping them get comfortable in their own shoes. 5 panelists share the lessons learned on their journey toward success. plus i have some amazing stilettos lined up to wear if this gets through!!!

clear your ears for instant success

Lickle old me, Aubrey Sabala (digg), Tara Hunt (Citizen Agency), Sally Strebel (Best Party Ever), Vero Pepperrell (That Canadian Girl)

it’s a well known fact that whilst you’re in a conversation with someone you’re often thinking about what you’re going to say next rather than listening. this can be the same for businesses too. this panel discusses the skills it takes to have effective communication with your users and the benefits that brings.

and…

i’ve also been honored to be asked to speak on a further 2 panels that have been submitted by the lovely sally strebel. 5 Common Misperceptions of Technological Creativity and Climbing the Corporate Ladder in a Mini Skirt. i’m really excited about these panels as they’re both something that i’m passionate about. you can find full details here.

so, if you’d like to see me with my sensible hat on (for the whole of an hour), oh heck who am i kidding – it will be me being me, joined by some truly amazing women, i’d really appreciate you taking a couple of minutes out of your day to support us.

now to work out how i’d actually get there if the panels are successful… maybe i’ll party a little harder and save on hotel costs?

btw

thanks so much for the support that you’ve shown so far. things like this and this below really make me glow inside (even more than buying great shoes!!!). thankyou.

oh you should probably know before you watch that i’m incredibly drunk, although you probably would have sussed that for yourself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

now yes, i can hear your chuckling. i know i was terribly drunk. i know that i could hardly stand and yes, yes, i know that texas is not north america… it was humour in my drunken state.

i hope that it made you chuckle, even if it was at my expense… taxi!