The Myth About Culture

When I applied to law firms, and sat through what felt like endless interviews with firm after firm, one of the pointless questions I would ask was about firm culture.  Invariably the answers began to all sound the same: we are a flexible place. We like women and minorities.  We let people work from home.  There aren't any "screamers" here. The list went on and on.  One of my favorites was "we think work-life balance is important."  It was as if that question was their opportunity to debunk all myths about law firms and the people who work there.  

When I went to work at the place I work now, I realized very quickly that while this firm marketed themselves as "not New York", and a lifestyle choice, it was a choice.  The second week I was there a first year associate at the time greeted us one morning wearing the same clothes he was wearing the day before.  And, a couple of weeks later when I wondered into the office after a baseball game to get the clothes I had changed out of, I saw him asleep at his desk.  It was significant to me that he was definitely the only one living like that.  But it was obvious that if you wanted to, you could work very very hard at the firm. 

Which lead me to my new belief about a company's culture: it is what you make it.  There are, with any large company, lots of different types of people in a company.  And, with any company, there are many different ways of doing things.  Often, at least with firms and businesses that I have seen up close and personal, culture is about not the norms but the options.  And these options are almost identical lots of places.

Now by options I mean the things that a company has done to retain it's employees.  I mean instituting a business casual policy and days where employees can wear jeans.  I mean providing laptops so that employees can work from home.  I mean providing a mentorship program so that employees have a better way to integrate themselves into the business, by receiving advice from someone who has been in their shoes.  No company says that there are people you can't talk to  and things you can't do.  But at every company these individuals exist, and there is one client, or one "place", where you just don't go. 

And really, it must be this way.  No matter how a company presents itself, it is all about the bottom line.  The company wants to make money off of you.  And they want you to stay long enough to get a really big return from their investment.  My personal example: if I bill the proper number of hours at a law firm, a firm will make a minimum of $350K a year from my work.  And that is after they pay my salary, and the salary of my assistant.  No matter how great the company, it all comes down to the bottom line.  Companies only do things that help them.  So maybe one firm has cooler partners.  And one company has a CEO famous for being relaxed and encouraging his employees individuality in the workplace.  But best believe, if your individuality or your personal relationships come in the way of the bottom line, you will be cut off, faster than you can say "what's the culture again?"

What does this mean for culture? I think it means good things. It means you should capitalize on the many options that are available where you are. It means that while the screamers are at any place you go, you can avoid them.  And it means that your company can change, especially if a "culture-driven" change in another company increases the bottom line.  While I think "culture" as a single, identifiable entity is a myth, the power of choices that it can create is very much alive and well.

As a side note, I do think that there is a difference, for example, in the culture of a small company that is a start-up versus a big company that is a practical staple of it's society.  But, once that start up is fully integrated and developed, I don't think that the options that both companies present will necessarily be all that different.