Politics, schmolitics. It's the culture, stupid.

When I read this quote from Tom Davis, former Republican member of congress, I was certain I’d write about this week’s election:

"It is time to sit down practically and say where are we going to add pieces to our coalition. There just are not enough middle-aged white guys that we can scrape together to win. There's just not enough of them."

There is so much work to do for both sides – repairing the rift, averting the now infamous “fiscal cliff,” – that it seemed like a no-brainer. Add to that Washington and Colorado passing recreational marijuana laws, and so many states passing same-sex marriage laws.

So much fodder for a good post, but it was not to be.

Alas, I got settled into my seat on a Southwest flight to Chicago and my post about the election got hijacked (bad flying humor there). It’s the beginning of the month so there’s a new Spirit magazine, and if you read my posts with any regularity you know of my affinity for Southwest in general, and Spirit in particular.

Every issue is structured the same way:

1. The first feature is a letter from CEO Gary Kelly in which he inevitably talks about how great his Employees and Customers are (their idea to capitalize those two words – nicely done), and how well their Employee-first attitude has served them over the years – 39 consecutive years of profitability!
2. Next, it’s an article highlighting an outstanding Employee that oftentimes features that person’s involvement in some philanthropic endeavor. Nothing like a pat on the back in front of millions of people, huh?
3. Then there’s an article featuring one of their great Customers. These usually feature enough information about the person that if you were inclined to contact them, you probably wouldn’t have much trouble. (These are not your boilerplate testimonials signed by “Rebecca H., Tucson, AZ.” How would you ever find that person to see if their passion was true?)
4. Blah, blah, blah. The rest of the magazine – which I really do like, but isn’t anywhere near as compelling for me as numbers 1-3.

So here’s my thing about Southwest’s approach. It’s deliberate to the point of being relentless, and that’s what it takes to be successful with anything. You can’t just expect good accounting, marketing, customer service or sales practices to evolve, you have to be deliberate and relentless in your implementation and follow up.

None of these disciplines has a “check the box and it’s done” approach to success. Each of them requires daily attention to the details.

It’s the same with culture (and internal communications); you can’t just say, “This is what I want” and expect it to happen. Developing the type of corporate culture you want requires a deliberate, concerted and relentless effort daily. Otherwise, what will develop is a kind of ad hoc, whomever-speaks-the-loudest-or-longest kind of culture – it won’t be carried through the organization with any degree of success because you’ll always be starting over.

You have to live it all day, every day. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I like Southwest founder Herb Kelleher’s quote (that’s why I use it every third sentence!) about culture:

“Culture is one of the most precious things a company has, so you must work harder on it than anything else.”

It’s important to remember that it does require effort; it doesn’t just happen.

There’s an old axiom in sales – besides Blake’s ABCs from Glengarry Glen Ross – that in order to get the sale, you must ask for the sale. The same thing holds true in other facets of business: If there’s a specific outcome desired, you must ask for it.

What kind of culture do you want? Be deliberate. Be relentless.

By the way, did you see what voters in New Hampshire did? They elected a female governor, two female congresswomen and two female senators (the first all-female congressional delegation from any state). That’s cool.

Talk about a deliberate culture change!

You don't have to swing for the fences, just keep swinging

Most of my posts have to do with corporate culture, communications, employee engagement and their relationship to workplace enjoyment and success. Go figure; I guess that’s what you’d expect from a corporate communicator. Sometimes, though, it feels like Groundhog Day.

In that movie, Bill Murray is weatherman Phil Connors. He’s sent to Punxsutawney to cover the Groundhog Day festivities, but wakes up day after day at the same time doing the same things over and over – covering the festivities, interacting with the same people and so on. After what seems like a hundred repeats of the same day with variations, he realizes that he’s getting these chances to relive the day until he gets it right.

I think maybe that’s why I keep hacking away at it – I want to keep after it until we get it right. “Keep chopping wood” as they say.

As I was watching the World Series this year, it struck me that the San Francisco Giants, like they did in 2010 when they last won the World Series, had something companies can emulate for success: Full buy-in from their employees/players on what it takes to be successful. Good pitching and defense, and making contact at the plate not only served these guys well in the post season, but it was enough to shut down one of the best hitting teams in MLB. (Detroit was third in the AL during the regular season.)

The Giants didn’t have the star power of the Yankees or the Tigers. And while Buster Posey is no slouch, having led the NL in batting average, he’s not a household name like A-Rod, Jeter, Prince or Miguel Cabrera, the Triple Crown winner this year.

But it doesn’t have to be about star power, you just have to have everyone on board with the plan. Marco Scutaro, a nice player who’s had a nice career, was the epitome of the Giants approach at the plate. Scutaro was traded to the Giants at the end of July and in 179 plate appearances he swung and missed only nine times. Nine times! In his 736 plate appearances this season, he swung and missed only 62 times. Wow!

Scutaro was easily the catalyst in the Giants 3-game surge against the Cardinals in the NLCS. Not a home run hitter, Marco-put-it-in-play-Scutaro.

It doesn’t take superstars to achieve your goals, it just takes everyone acting like a team, striving toward the same goals, watching each other’s backs, picking each other up when we fall short and not getting caught up in “what’s in it for me.”

You see, when you get that buy-in, there’s something in it for everyone. A better workplace, goal achievement, happy bosses and career opportunities are all by-products of pulling together for the good of the team.

It’s easy to lose sight of big goals sometimes because we want to have personal successes and be recognized for individual achievements, that’s human nature. But if you’re doing it right – playing as a team – people get the credit they’re due and everyone benefits.

So think about these Giants (and the 2010 team), even if you’re a Dodgers fan, and think about how you can contribute to the organization and the greater good for your teammates. You may even get your own Groundhog Day experience and find success again and again.

The Giants did.

P.S. For more on ways to incorporate Giants culture, check this out.