Company culture doesn't happen overnight. It's a slow process of growth and change, much like gardening. With care and attention, your "garden" of company culture will produce fruits that sustain your value. Sometimes, that business culture garden gets overgrown with weeds. When that happens, it's time to start some changes--changes that often mean pulling a few weeds. To make a change in culture for your company, address your value congruity, your work methods, your staff and your management team.
First of all, examine how well your behaviors and policies mesh with the stated values of your company. If you betray those values for the sake of expediency, your entire business culture will be one of cynicism and situational ethics. Fix this problem by adjusting your behavior, or your stated values.
When you decide to make a change in culture, get management on board: If you're not all on the same page, your managers will continue to lead their teams in the same toxic manner that started the problem. Give each member of your management team personal ownership and responsibility for his part in the process, and check in to see how progress is being made. Management who won't go along with your changes should be encouraged to seek success elsewhere.
The 80/20 rule applies here: 80 percent off the negative momentum in your business culture will come from 20 percent of your staff--and chances are you already know who 80 percent of those people are. At this stage, work with management to identify the personnel who do the most damage. Some of them may be worth retraining, but others should be sent on their way as soon as possible. Fill the open positions with new hires whose attitudes match the direction you want your company to take.
Examine your procedures and best practices. Do they encourage your workers to make decisions that go along with the business culture you want to create? You might have a bonus structure that fosters short-term risks rather than long-term growth, or a procedure manual that forces a feeling of drudgery and boredom. If you come across a work method or business system that doesn't match your desired business culture, replace it with something that does.
Unfortunately, changing your business culture won't be any faster than developing the toxic culture you're currently battling. You'll have to be patient and systematic, but you'll eventually see the results of weeding and feeding your corporate garden.