A trail of links from LinkedIn led me to an excellent essay on FastCompany entitled ‘8 Rules For Creating a Passionate Work Culture’. In it, the author – Paul Alofs – profiles the rules on the foundation of which an empire can be built:

1. Hire the right people
2. Communicate
3. Tend to the weeds
4. Work hard, play hard
5. Be ambitious
6. Celebrate differences
7. Create the space
8. Take the long view

The rules seem simple… maybe too simple. But, there is a lot of wisdom in those paragraphs. For instance, most of us know that hiring the right people is critical to success, but don’t exactly know how to go about it. Alofs offers many helpful hints…

There is no shortage of impressive CVs out there, but you should try to find people who are interested in the same things you are. Asking the right questions is key: What do you love about your chosen career? What inspires you? What courses in school did you dread? You want to get a sense of what the potential employee believes.

 

If you had a dozen straight-A students who were from the same socio-economic background and the same geographical area, you might not get much in the way of interesting debate or interaction. Great cultures are built on a diversity of background, experience, and interests. These differences generate energy, which is critical to any enterprise.

Read the entire post. And, make an attempt to put it to action.