In my career, I have been fortunate to have worked in a few different companies and industries. Throughout this journey, I have seen many styles of something that is vitally important to all companies nowadays: Culture.

Company culture can make work an enjoyable experience, or can make it a dreadful ordeal. Big company or small company, the culture of the office setting can have a direct impact on business success. By success I do mean, specifically, financial success. Papers have been written on this topic and conferences are held in cities across the country to address the culture of companies and the impact it has on the bottom line. Company culture is indeed vital.

Like the rest of the world, I took in the most recent Avengers movie within the past few weeks. Actually, as a team we took in the movie. We turned it into a team outing to go see Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest fight their greatest rival, and also conquer time travel. After the movie ended, as a team, we grabbed pizza for the office. Both the movie and the pizza were great uses of time and resources.

From my perspective, outings like this are priceless. Why? Because they foster culture and teamwork. Anyone who has been in a work environment that is restrictive or toxic will tell you how draining it can be. The energy can be sapped in an instant. I have been in environments where there was great potential, but the culture was stifling. It dragged everyone down like an anchor and made doing the day-to-day work almost burdensome. No one took the initiative to address the issues. Do I wish I could go back in time and work on that toxic culture? You bet I do. Unlike the Avengers, though, my choice in time travel would be to travel in style with a flying DeLorean.

Little things like a team outing to see a movie can have a huge impact. There are many other ways to impact the office culture, too. At Dwaiter, we have a ping-pong table in the office. We have had some fierce games and having these games allows team camaraderie, provides the opportunity to blow off some steam, bring a lot of smiles, and helps to get the creative juices flowing. I have yet to win a game, by the way. In the near future we will be delivering meals once a week for Meals on Wheels in Rochester. Great for the community and great for Dwaiter’s team culture. Again, it is the little things sometimes that make it worthwhile.

What is your company culture like?

If you are looking to work with a company that is putting a focus on culture, or if you would like to talk business opportunities over a spirited game of ping-pong, please call or shoot us an email.

Be excellent to each other.

Andy