We hear this word thrown around a lot, but do we ever stop and think about what it could mean? Here are some of my reflections...

We’ve all heard the story of Cinderella and her ugly step-sisters, and we know that she meets a prince and lives happily ever after because a glass slipper was the “right fit”. Some of us may have been told growing up not to speak too loudly, dress too outrageously, or voice our opinions in order to “fit-in”. Maybe you’ve heard or even used the sayings “flying under the radar” and “trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.”
If you’re nodding along to any of this, it means that you, like me, have experienced the culture-blindspot.
From an anthropological perspective, a culture is a shared set of beliefs, practices and values that bind together a community of people. Emphasis on ‘bind’. Culture is learned, it’s not inherent within us, and it’s always evolving. It’s not the people alone that make the culture, it’s the people, the strategy and the ever shifting vision working in unison. So, one has to ask the question, “if culture is always changing and is learned, then how are you ever supposed to “fit” right off the bat?!”
Well I’m glad you asked.
“Cultural fit” as a term has been misused, adulterated and warped to reflect the beliefs of decades past. People are told that they need to think a certain way, dress a certain way, maybe have a certain diet, heck they might even need to like playing pick-up sports and drinking hipster beer to “be a good fit”. But that has nothing to do with “culture” in its purest form as those are all superficial attributes.
“if culture is always changing and is learned, then how are you ever supposed to “fit” right off the bat?!”
Being a “fit” for a company should mean that you can get behind their values, you recognize the work they’re doing and are confident you can contribute to their goals in a refreshing way, and that their ever-changing practices can benefit from the experience you bring to the table.
Consider this:
A small community, we’ll call them Community A, is living on a remote island and from time to time, a shipwreck drops some people off on their land. These new people have tools, food preferences and monopoly rules that seem a little off-base or even useless at first to the native population. In the end, Community A decides that these newcomers will never “fit” because they’re so different, so they ignore them and go back to daily life.
On a neighboring island lives Community B and similarly to the first island, shipwrecked individuals end up on this land. The leaders of Community B come down to the beach and see the newcomers struggling with chopping wood (butter knives aren’t all they’re cracked up to be) so they show these newbies a better tool and the job is done in a fraction of the time. A few days later, a newcomer sees some people from Community B spending a lot of time trying to get their kids to eat the local vegetables. The newcomer whips out a bottle of Ranch dressing and in seconds, the kids are chomping away.
As companies, we tend to be like Community A. We have “our way” of doing things and you need to “fit in” or ship out. The problem with this is that we aren’t always being the most efficient with our time and it’s difficult to innovate when we’re caught up in the day-to-day of the business. If, on the other hand, we choose to be like Community B, not only can we help show others some of the amazing processes we’ve established, but we also benefit from some of the diverse knowledge that a new team member can bring to the table.
So what does this have to do with my company? Well it’s pretty simple. You probably have some great processes and some not-so-great processes. Expecting your incredible team to always be the ones innovating and fixing these is silly, and a waste of talent. When you're growing the team, if you only look for people who look like you, eat like you and quack like you, you're going to end up with a giant family of ducks all walking in the same direction. BUT. If we welcome talent that can contribute to the ever-evolving culture of AZ Home we will end up with a community that is trend-setting, tight-knit and flexible in the face of external change.
At your company, your mission isn’t to find people who think, look and act like you. IT's important to steer away from creating a mold and expecting people to fall in line. You should look for fresh ideas, controversial opinions and diverse experiences to drive your business. When people ask your team what the Culture is like at their office, I want them to be able to say “The Breakfast Club” throw a Judd Nelson fist in the air and walk away with pride.
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