I place great importance on the span of a single year. I believe you cannot truly know an organization until you have watched, listened to and experienced it as one of its own through all four seasons — spring, summer, fall and winter. So I often ask employees who joined as experienced hires and have been with us for about a year: "Now that you have actually worked here, how does it feel?"
The wording varies, but the answers tend to be alike. They say the company has the structure of a large corporation yet at times feels like a foreign firm, and at other times is as agile as a startup. They mention that collaboration across departments comes naturally and that they can focus on their own work without needless competition. That it is a good place for women to work is also brought up often.
I, too, reflect with our people on what kind of company and corporate culture we should build. Among the things I consider most important is an organizational culture where honest communication is possible. Our company has many "straight shooters." When the answer has to be "not now," they do not hesitate to state their judgment clearly rather than dance around it out of concern for how the other person will react. So when someone says "no" with sufficient reason and logic, I actually praise them for stating their view clearly.
Speaking honestly also requires relationships in which those words are trusted and accepted. A workplace is a social relationship formed through work, but at Youngone we have our own culture — one that does not intrude too much into each person's life yet shares in the laughter in good times and offers a shoulder in hard ones. Perhaps it is because of that measured distance that people can confide worries to a colleague that they could not even raise with family or friends, and work their way toward answers together. As the head of the company, I too sometimes share my concerns with employees and seek their wisdom. Those who have crossed difficult times together inevitably develop a deep understanding and trust.
This trust shows in how we work. Some organizations may need employees to repeat back instructions word for word, but Youngone is closer to the opposite. When needless checking is reduced, judgment and execution grow faster. An honest, truthful and upright attitude aligns with one of Youngone's core values, "honesty and integrity."
Corporate culture, I believe, is not created overnight by raising a fancy slogan; it is formed as such relationships and attitudes accumulate over a long time. The conversations we share every day, the way we treat people and how we go about our work come together to form a single color. At Youngone, long-held values and new ideas coexist. That may be why, in the eyes of those who have newly joined, it can appear to be as nimble and flexible as a startup.
Not long ago, an employee said this to me: "I think I spend far more time eating and talking with my team leader than I do with my husband." I laughed for quite a while at that, but it also made me realize anew that the time we spend together at work takes up a larger part of our lives than we might think.
Life has countless seasons. This time we now share with good people will surely be a precious moment in our lives as well. Time passes, but memories of sharing joys and hardships together linger long. I hope that today, as we work together, becomes a time that gives someone strength and lets them dream of tomorrow. I believe such days, gathered together, will make for a healthy organizational culture, and that our lives, too, will grow a little sturdier and warmer.
Over the past two months, I have been happy to connect with readers as a Rotary columnist. I want to remember this, too, for a long time as a precious season spent together with many people.
