The culture of an organization can be defined as the collective behavior of the people who belong to it. This is true in every company serving every market in the world. I’ve been quoted as saying that I believe our company culture should actually be listed on a balance sheet in the assets column. That is how strongly I believe culture impacts growth, profitability and excellent customer service.

Many blue collar business owners seem to act as though culture is just something that happens. The team members dictate the culture and then we, as the organization’s leaders, simply accept it. I believe this is a major issue that needs to be addressed immediately. In my coaching work, we focus on helping companies improve three major categories: sales, marketing and leadership skills. Within this complex triad lies the foundation of company culture.

In larger companies, subcultures can actually exist within the overall culture. This shows up when departments are set up in their own divisions or separate geographical locations. For the majority of home service companies, however, one overall company culture represents what the organization is all about.

As leaders, we have a responsibility to both our team members and clients to make a conscious decision about what type of culture our company embodies. A great deal of research is available regarding different cultural behaviors in businesses, but here I want to focus on one concept that will help you build and maintain momentum as you grow your own abilities as well as your business.

A leader’s mindset

Many ingredients go into the recipe that yields a consistently positive, growth-focused culture. This is true regarding your own leadership abilities, as well as how effectively your company functions. We all measure return on investment in various ways, and the most common method is tied to bottom-line profit vs. the costs of doing business. Many other investments we make in our companies are far beyond the checkbook (such as culture) and they are more elusive because it’s harder to calculate an exact return.

Earlier this year, I went through a period of facilitating multiple workshops in a row, working directly with front-line teams and training them how to improve internal processes and systems. This month, I want to share a few thoughts about multiplying your business by utilizing company culture in a very positive way.

One of the things I’ve recognized as a commonality with all our clients who are experiencing multiplied growth has to do with their mindset and how they see their industry as a whole. A leader’s mindset and focus directly affects the culture of the organization. If your own perception is that this is a difficult business, there is not enough skilled labor, no one is coming into the trades anymore, and the bulk of the future of our industry will be served by Google and Amazon, then you’ve got a very specific mindset.

I might also add this is a limiting belief mindset and does absolutely nothing to help you move the needle in the right direction when it comes to your current business reality.

Before you stop reading because you’re thinking I’ve got my head in the sand and I don’t understand your true problems, let me be clear about something: I’m not saying there aren’t inherent challenges that we all face in our companies. The challenges we are up against are strongly backed up by certain statistics confirming the “doom and gloom” we will face. However, make no mistake that despite what the statistics say and what direction our great industry takes moving forward, you must keep (and consistently build) your own confidence and culture so you and your team know they will be winners and come out on top no matter what happens.

Regardless of politics, regardless of the overall state of the economy, and regardless of what’s happening in the world at large, we have to maintain the belief that we will come out on top as professionals in this industry.

Changing your standards

A Multiplier Mindset Culture can be defined in many different ways, but I want you to think about just the combination of the words “multiplier mindset” and what they can mean to your life and organization when you apply this type of thinking to your current situation. When you begin to condition your mind into a higher level of thinking, your standards begin to change. You start to expect more from yourself, your company and those around you. Tony Robbins teaches a concept about the fact that we don’t always reach our goals, but we always reach our standards.

Most clients come to us at The Blue Collar Success Group with their standards set at levels much lower than what they deserve for their lives and businesses. Part of my personal mission and purpose in life is to help raise the standards of all in-home service providers. Think about your own situation and how your results are looking right now. Does your current reality meet the standard you desire for your life and family? Or are you tolerating specific things such as limiting beliefs, behaviors and negative company culture that are actually holding you back from what you deserve?

When you have a limiting belief mindset or pay too much attention to the constant negative international news, you can actually lower your own standards without even realizing it. This happens because you can unconsciously become focused on all the terrible things “going wrong” in your world as well as the world around you.

To immediately impact your life and team members in a positive way, I would highly recommend focusing on all the incredible things going well that you’ve got to be grateful for right now. In conjunction with this focus, always continue seeking solutions for current challenges in your life and organization.

Developing a Multiplier Mindset Culture will get you and your team to build confidence in your processes as well as each other. I believe that confidence is the foundation of your company growth. Today, your company is a reflection of your confidence more than any other single factor. Begin to catch yourself when you become focused on negativity, or start blaming others (including your team members) for challenges the company is facing.

When you catch yourself in a negative pattern, immediately interrupt this habitual thinking with a strong belief and knowing within your core that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. You must know in your heart that you are the correct person to establish and lead your company culture.

Leaders who develop Multiplier Mindset Cultures do not become free of challenges by any means. In fact, more often than not, our biggest breakthroughs and accomplishments come right after overcoming our biggest obstacles. However, when you have a culture focused on growth and abundance, multiplying team talents and improving customer service methods, you create a huge advantage in the marketplace. This is true because now your company and employees have a better way of deciding what’s truly important, knowing they are part of a strong company that will win no matter what.

Make it a must to consciously abandon the limiting belief mindset and adopt the multiplier mindsetwithin your culture. When you do this, it will affect fellow leaders, trickle down to all team members, and eventually have a huge impact on your culture and profitability. Enjoy the momentum, energy and results your team begins to produce when they embrace the multiplier mindset!