The word culture has its origins in the word cultivate, meaning to care for. Corporate cultures need to be cultivated and cared for too.

Even if you haven't ever grown your own food from scratch, I'm sure you know the process. You begin by finding some fertile soil, then you plant your seeds in a spot where they get enough sunshine. You could rely on the seasonal rainfall, but for the best results you want to make sure your seeds also get the right amount of water. Then as the days and weeks pass by, you watch as the plants sprout, fruit and ripen, until you have a wonderful bounty!

It's really not so different with your business. While growing your own fruits and vegetables can make you feel great inside, there's nothing like realizing the rewards that a thriving culture can bring to your company. For a minimal investment you can create a space such that your team loves where they work and why they work. And just as growing a garden can help sustain a family, investing in culture helps your company achieve sustainable growth year after year.

Fostering the culture of your business is like tending a garden. In fact, the word "culture" has its origins in both the Latin and French words for cultivate, beginning with the idea of tilling the land, "preparing the earth for crops" in order to promote growth. The definition also suggests that culture requires care, and honoring passed down knowledge. As seeds contain the blueprint for a future plant, your CoreVals define where your company came from and what it can become.

Much like establishing a deliberate company culture, with a garden you start with the end in mind, envisioning the fruits of your labor that will soon arrive. Your business already has great ideas and employees who represent everything you want your company to be, so you have an environment in which seeds can grow. How important is culture to your business? The CEOs I work with say culture comes first. When you get your culture right, everything else aligns. But you must remember that success comes by cultivation and care for your CoreVals.

If CoreVals are the seeds, you cannot afford to neglect them. As a CEO, you can’t simply create your CoreVals, announce them to your team, and then think your great culture will flourish. Just like the plants in your garden, you need to actively nourish your CoreVals to bring them alive. You can take specific actions to nurture those seeds and help your culture thrive. When you live your values during meetings, by recognizing and rewarding employees, by truly seeing them, then you will see your culture driving your business forward.

After I worked with her leadership team to identify and develop their CoreVals, Kitsa Antonopoulos, the founder and executive director of Lumiere Children's Therapy, continued the work to help both her staff and her clients grow and achieve their goals. By recognizing and celebrating the magic moments her staff helps create for their clients, employees feel more valued. By leaning on the company's CoreVals in the hiring process, Kitsa relies less on qualifications than she does ensuring she hires people that fit their internal culture. She credits values-based hiring with creating trust and building a strong culture of accountability at Lumiere.

In Kitsa's case, Lumiere had a strong CorePurpose to help inform their CoreVals, and the culture flowed from the synergy between them. Once you've found the seeds or CoreVals that feel right for your company and your employees, the care needs to be ongoing. I promise that you will find no other initiative that brings greater rewards than investing in the development and sustainability of your company’s culture.