Setting yourself apart by your organisational culture is a key to success, but what happens when that culture is at odds with businesses you work with?
​Denis Yordanov

Organisational culture is undoubtedly a popular topic among academics and executives alike. And although there has been a lot of research and discussions on organisational culture, there has been significantly less interest in the concept of culture clash.

A strange phenomenon, given the fact that all theory and anecdotes teach us that every organisation has its own unique culture. So, how can companies interact and do business with each other in the contemporary business world if their organisational cultures are different and quite often at odds?

A unique research opportunity

During my penultimate year as a student in the University of Strathclyde Business School I took part in a six-month research and consultancy project. This project, which was termed ‘Strathclyde Business Clinic’, matched teams of university students with Glasgow-based start-ups that were experiencing business-related issues or wanted fresh outside eyes to improve their business. Along with my team members I was assigned to This is Milk’s case.

This is Milk’s proposal was different from the rest. In a pool of start-ups looking for help with their business models, marketing campaigns, or attracting investment, they were interested in their organisational culture and that's what set them apart.

The project had three main objectives:

1. Define This is Milk’s organisational culture
2. Identify issues with and solutions to culture clash
3. Devise a culture measurement model.

​It was clear from the outset that getting 'culture' right was a big deal for This is Milk - they wanted their culture to reflect their values as a business to create a working environment that's forward thinking and puts people first. It made sense to me because a toxic organisational culture would be detrimental to any business.

My task within the team was to work on the culture clash aspect of the project. I had to identify potential areas of friction between This is Milk’s culture and the culture of a potential client. In addition, I had to answer the question of how they might deal with a scenario of mis-matched culture. This was critical  for This is Milk - trying to set themselves apart by their culture was key, but their business model is all about servicing clients - is there an inherent risk?

Hitting the books

As a diligent student I did what any student is expected to do when faced with a task. I turned to the books and looked for an answer there. But there wasn’t one. There was plenty of literature on culture clash as a concept, many have explored culture clash brought on by different projects, and the majority of culture clash discussion revolved around mergers and acquisitions. There were some stark examples of the damage culture clash can cause if it remains ignored or unacknowledged, such as the disastrous Daimler & Chrysler merger. But there was little to nothing on This is Milk’s issue.

Our answer - 3 ways to beat culture clash

After several weeks of research and experimenting, me and my team managed to establish three possible approaches that they could use to deal with culture clash. 

1. Pick the Right Market - this is about choosing to work for clients whose organisation culture is a good fit for This is Milk’s culture and avoiding those who are not. This is clearly an ideal world scenario as not many new businesses can afford to turn down clients, and what if there were no businesses that were a good fit?
   
   
2. Client is King - perhaps the most familiar approach in business today. It prescribes that This is Milk should forfeit their unique organisation culture and adapt to the culture of their client. This approach does not result in missed business opportunities but also defeats the purpose of having an organisational culture designed to make the employees happy.
   
   
3. Selling Point - this is about This is Milk using their unique organisation culture as a selling point. It is based on the fact that their culture is flexible, accommodating, and progressive, which can be used to persuade the clients of its benefits. Arguably this approach is also the hardest to employ.

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These three approaches outlined possible ways of dealing with culture clash. Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive as surely there are other approaches used by organisations that just aren't documented - yet.

Furthermore, in reality rarely anything is so neat and clear-cut that you can easily generalise and categorise it. In reality This is Milk's approach to culture will be a mix of all three of the above recommendations, their mandate to make customers at the heart of everything they do, defines their culture - becomes their USP and means the right market may find them.  

Although we can't give a clear cut answer, and the results will be reflected in This is Milk's business performance,  it is better to have thought about culture clash and be aware of its dangers than to risk failure by ignoring it!

We can work with you to improve your business! Learn more about our services:

Our take on volunteering at TEDx Glasgow's 2016 event,  A Disruptive World.
Denis Yordanov & Annina Claesson

Two of our team, Annina Claesson and Denis Yordanov, had the chance to volunteer for and attend the 5th annual TEDx Glasgow Conference on the 3rd of June. We asked them a few questions about what it was like.

How did you get involved with TEDx Glasgow?

Denis: I was offered to be a volunteer for TEDx through This is Milk, which meant that I would be able to attend the event as well.  I had never been to a TED event before but I have seen lots of the talks online so this was an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up!

My role was to help with the setup of the TEDx stage, I was one of the people who put together, shaped, and hoisted those white pieces of fabric that you could see all over the stage. It was an interesting change of pace from the work I have been doing for This is Milk. In This is Milk the labour is entirely cognitive, while the volunteering was mostly good old manual work. As a volunteer I met and worked with very interesting and helpful people. At the end of the day I would say that sore legs were a small price to pay for the whole TEDx experience.

Annina: I also helped out with the stage prep. It was a lot of moving things around mostly, but I also did a fair bit of painting, including the big TED letters that stood behind every speaker. I found volunteering to be an incredibly rewarding experience, mainly because of the astoundingly creative people who were running everything backstage. They were so nice and welcoming and I found I had a lot in common with some of them. Of course, it was also very satisfying to see our hard work on stage the next day. I definitely agree with Denis about the sore muscles – stage weights are very heavy!

For more information on what we did, you can read the blog from TEDx set designer Niki Longmuir
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What were your favourite TEDx talks and why?
​
Annina: As a politics student, I found Mark Muller Stuart QC’s talk 'The Power of Small Nation and Non-State Diplomacy in the 21st Century' to be really captivating. It was something I’d never even considered as a possibility before. It was a great example of how all the traditional categories and assigned roles are being eroded and becoming more flexible in our rapidly changing world, even in a field such as ‘high politics’.

Perhaps surprisingly, Brianna Robertson-Kirkland’s talk 'The Castrated Opera Singer' about how castrati opera singers have influenced modern opera was also a personal favourite. I’m interested in classical singing but it was more that the way she presented her topic felt so engaging.

​Denis: There were so many amazing TED talks that it is hard to pick just one or two. I really liked James Lyne’s talk 'Hacking with Words and Smiles' because it was extremely insightful in terms of what hacking actually is and how many people fall prey to it without even realising. Hacking has moved away from obviously fake emails from a Nigerian prince into more sophisticated and subtle methods, such as opening a plain text document.

Dr. Ravinder Dahiya’s talk 'Animating the Inanimate World' on robotics and touch sensing was also really innovative and educating. It showed me a glimpse into the not-so-distant future of robots that many would consider the stuff of movies. Before the talk I don’t think a lot of people were aware of how far robotics have come and how much potential there is for development and deployment.

There were many other great talks, for example the really motivating one by Ellis Watson of Dundee based media group, DC Thomson, 'Disrupt Yourself or Die Trying', but those two, in particular, really stuck with me.

What were the key takeaways for This is Milk?

Denis: Personally I think the most relevant talk to This is Milk was from one of the founders of Scottish craft beer company BrewDog, James Watt, who talked about organisational culture in his talk 'Internal=External'. 

As a University of Strathclyde student I was previously involved in delivering a project about This is Milk’s unique organisational culture and James Watt’s talk was a really relevant and interesting take on that subject. In my experience, most people think about organisational culture as something mostly internal to the organisation, quite often described as ‘the way an organisation does things’. To paraphrase Mr. Watt ‘organisational culture is what your company does when no one is looking’. But here's the trick - in today’s globalised and digitised world everyone is looking, especially your customers. So instead, companies should think about their culture not as internal but as an external aspect that is always on display for everyone to see.

This unprecedented transparency means that it is paramount for organisations to have a culture that they are proud of, that they can show to the world without any reservations, and ultimately that is appealing to their customers. I thought that this notion was quite radical and disruptive in itself since most organisations would be very reluctant to reveal their inner workings - just take Apple’s top-secret organisational culture as an example. I was even more surprised by how BrewDog have achieved this. In the crowded market that is beer brewing, BrewDog have made their beer recipes, essentially their trade secrets, available online to anyone, free of charge. I’m sure some people will consider something like this to be unorthodox but it clearly works for BrewDog and ties-in perfectly with their culture. Since having the right culture is a cornerstone for This is Milk, I found this talk to be very relevant to us.

​Annina: Dr. Mark Payton’s talk ‘Successful Startups: What's Luck Got to do With It' was very informative and highly relevant for This is Milk. The gist of his talk was that for startups, ‘luck’ is mostly about keeping focus about your vision and place in the market, as well as surrounding yourself with the right people. I found we as a company could relate to that quite a lot. Our success in these early stages has definitely come down to those two things. I found his talk to be really motivating for any startup, showing that they are much more in control of their own destiny than they might believe. Entrepreneurship is not easy, but he very clearly explained what the typical variables are that can make or break the success of a startup. We can always use a reminder that we make our own luck.

On the same note, Steve McCreadie’s talk 'Intrapreneurship: More Than Just a Spelling Mistake' also struck a chord with This is Milk’s values and methods. The Scottish startup scene is an exciting place and we definitely see the benefits of collaborating in what he called an ‘intrapreneurial ecosystem’, helping other organisations recognise the drive and talent within their teams just as we do with our own.

What were your key learnings from the day and how can we change in the workplace?

Annina: An event like TEDx Glasgow serves as a good reminder of how the stories and experiences of people practically next door can be powerful enough to inspire great change. Obviously, all the speakers gave you the usual TED-style boost of motivation, but I met a lot of really interesting people during my time as a volunteer and on the day of the event itself. Exciting stuff happens when forward-thinking minds meet. I think this links back to the idea of intrapreneurship and making sure that you’re not missing out on the ideas of the person by the desk next to yours – they could be the ones that will really make a positive change.

​Denis: Given that the theme of TEDx Glasgow was disruption, I think the key thing from the day was that disruption is inevitable and should be embraced and used to make a positive impact rather than trying to resist. It is very important to foster this attitude in the workplace so that it breeds intrapreneurship rather than anxiety.

Following the TEDx example

Being involved with events such as TEDx Glasgow is critical for us.  We believe in sharing insights, collaboration, conversation, and thought to lead our way in a constantly changing world.

This is why we've set up a MeetUp Group - The Milk Bar.  We bring together speakers and facilitators on topics fuelling Business Transformation in Scotland.  

Join our community of Business Transformers at the Milk Bar

Keep an eye out for our next Milk Bar and other events!

I was just enjoying my time in college when Ruby Mitchell (the college organiser) said that I will be attending a work placement to fit in with my college course. My course was centered around all things to do with computers, from hardware to webpage design, and I found it all very enjoyable as I have a keen interest in computers and electronics.

​However, during a two-week break, I was invited to attend an interview for a company called ‘This is Milk’. At first I wasn't sure what to think, but I decided ‘why not?‘ I travelled all the way to the interview to be greeted with a surprise when I found out that the office was located in an old renovated prison cell. Although the setting wasn't the usual place I would expect an office to be, I still continued and agreed that I would happily work there for the time that they needed me.

The first day dawned. I entered the room and was greeted by my new ‘cell mates’. They gave me my desk, email address and login details and I was soon up and running, ready to be briefed with my very first tasks.

I was first asked to help test a development website for a client project that was underway. The website was UFiiT.com. I found a few small mistakes that I then had to document on Trello, which lets you share your findings instantly with everybody in the group (pretty cool right?). Although I only found a few small issues like misspelt words I still felt very accomplished and armed with my new skill I scoured over the entire website once again.

If we skip a few days and go to the Friday of that week, this was when the project team meeting was held. I was sitting on the other side of the room, minding my own business when I saw them doing something that confused me at first. They were writing directly onto the walls! Well maybe not directly - they were using magic whiteboard charts that stick to the wall using static, but still.

As the weeks have progressed I learned lots of new skills that I never had when I first entered the prison. Some of the main ones were logging bug (or 'defect') reports and how to edit web pages using things content management systems like Weebly and Wordpress.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at This is Milk, which allowed me to see how a real business handles their client’s needs when building a website and how they produce the final product. Everybody was very friendly and helped me with whatever I needed. So a massive thanks to everybody at This is Milk!