Wednesday Wisdom: What is Startup Culture?

Today's Wednesday Wisdom is brought to you by Indra Books of Agility for All. Do you have a question? Post it in the comments.

What does startup culture mean and why do I hear it used so often? According to an article by LSU, startup culture can be too defined by what it rejects "rigid processes, risk averse decisions, sluggish development dull working environments and uninspiring goals." If this is all we meant by startup culture or what people were intending when they say it, then we would have nothing to discuss. Who wouldn't want a fresh new way of working? But there's also the elephant in the room of what lies behind this phrase in so many cases. I am always nervous when I see a job posting and it says they are looking for people that want to embrace the startup culture mentality, but the company isn't a startup.

The underlying current of that phrase often means they want people who are willing to work for less pay or the promise of bonuses and stock options in lieu of a full salary and are also willing to work more than a traditional work week, all in the name of standing behind the vision of the organization. No matter what. And quite often, fancy perks are put in place to provide a glitz and glamour to camouflage the unhealthy work environment. 

We often see a startup culture that not only rejects rigid processes, but doesn't have a solid organizational structure or way of working at all which often leads to confusion or friction.

Some time ago, we wrote an article about how a visionary should not be the chief operating officer of a company. This becomes very apparent when we hear startup culture. As one person said to me a few months ago, "we're at the mercy of the founder who changes his mind with his shirt." 

What we would like to see in the near future is a change in what start up culture means to reflect agile ways of working instead of no prescribed ways of working. Organizations that respond to change in a constructive, intentional way. And healthy, psychologically safe, inclusive cultures. Startups who take this approach and cultivate an environment that creates high performing teams in a positive way, not by pushing overwork and undervaluation, will truly be a culture that people want to embrace instead of the rigid ways of working and slow movement. 

And that is today's Wednesday Wisdom. Don't forget. If you have a question, post it in the comments. Tune in next week for our next segment.

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