Structure: Build Muscle on Strong Bones – Part 1

The Healthy Bones of Company Structure

Strong organizational muscle is built on the solid inner skeleton of the company structure.

In the last series, we discussed company culture, which refers to people’s attitudes, values, and behaviors, from the newest apprentice to the CEO. Culture is something that you feel. You already know that culture is determined by vision, mission, and values, and it shapes everything in the organization.

Culture you can feel. Structure you can see.

One powerful way that culture is expressed is in the established structures of an organization, and structure is something you can see. Structure provides support for organizational muscle, like healthy bones support bodily muscle. Cultural values influence the decisions about structure, and the structures provide the framework to live out the values in the workplace. It is a two-way street.

Structure is freedom.

This is so important that I hired people to help me implement structure and organize the company. We know that discipline is freedom^[1], and structure is part of the discipline that gives freedom. So we put a lot of structure into Nolan Painting – really, no one wants to work for a boss who shoots from the hip.

What does structure look like?

That means we have a lot of meetings. We have a lot of performance reviews. We have job descriptions, operational manuals, and safety manuals. As I add structure, I ask myself, “What does the company need to feel stronger and more secure in its future?”

It doesn’t happen overnight, but structures will grow, and you can build organizational muscle on top of them. This is what we’ll be talking about in this next series, Structure: Build Muscle on Strong Bones.

See you Monday. Build muscle (and structure).

^[1]   Willink and Babin, “Extreme Ownership”