Company Culture: When Culture Goes Bad
It happens to cottage cheese and buttermilk. And it happens to organizations as well.
Watching a TV special on the rise of Home Depot I was blown away as the start-up culture (1970's) was being described: upbeat, resourceful and rah-rah to the max. But then the show went on to the late 80's when the culture began to look like a bloated, grotesque Mardi Gras mask; aisles filled with dangerous forklifts and not an employee in sight. That's the Home Depot I know and as a result will not go into one.
Back to the show, the founder decided to leave when, in a meeting, he realized they were opening stores that he would never see. A far cry from displaying empty boxes in the first store opening to give the appearance of a huge inventory and describing managers as "animals."
So here we have a case of a wonderful start-up culture spoiling into a rotten mess. The founders did not focus on maintaining and vitalizing the culture that grew Home Depot into a DIY retail giant.
Lance
Watching a TV special on the rise of Home Depot I was blown away as the start-up culture (1970's) was being described: upbeat, resourceful and rah-rah to the max. But then the show went on to the late 80's when the culture began to look like a bloated, grotesque Mardi Gras mask; aisles filled with dangerous forklifts and not an employee in sight. That's the Home Depot I know and as a result will not go into one.
Back to the show, the founder decided to leave when, in a meeting, he realized they were opening stores that he would never see. A far cry from displaying empty boxes in the first store opening to give the appearance of a huge inventory and describing managers as "animals."
So here we have a case of a wonderful start-up culture spoiling into a rotten mess. The founders did not focus on maintaining and vitalizing the culture that grew Home Depot into a DIY retail giant.
Lance
posted by Lance Daly at
12:05 PM
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