Tear Down the Corporate Culture Wall

Tear Down the Corporate Culture Wall Instead of pouring effort into a ‘culture wall’ and chanting slogans, focus on real business and bring tangible gains to teammates — the material base determines the superstructure. Topics: Startup, Management.

Today, I visited Mr. Wang, a seasoned HR professional, with a friend. When we discussed “corporate culture,” Mr. Wang made it clear: for micro and small companies with fewer than 50 employees, he opposes copying the Huawei playbook or Amoeba management. He’s even more against founders pouring tons of energy into studying management gurus like Taylor or Peter Drucker.

First, the quality of domestic training and consulting firms varies widely. The better ones still send people abroad annually to learn the latest ideas; the weaker ones may just scrape someone else’s slide decks online; the average ones simply excerpt the classics and recite them by rote.

Second, a company’s culture is inseparable from its founder, the firm’s own traits, its industry, and its stage of development. As a company grows, a distinctive culture naturally precipitates. Some firms become well known, so their cultures become widely recognized — but copying them is merely tracing the outlines; you won’t capture the essence.

Third, the recent buzz around the 996 schedule: 996 is part of many internet companies’ cultures. The reason it “works” isn’t that the founder declares, “996 is a blessing,” and employees happily comply; it’s because those companies pay enough for people to afford housing and baby formula.

Indeed, rather than obsessing over a culture wall and daily slogans, it’s better to focus on doing business well and delivering real, felt gains to the teammates fighting alongside you. After all, the material base determines the superstructure.