My dear boy,
Nations rise and fall; kingdoms come and go. But we must ask ourselves, “Why?” Is it the way of the earth? And if it is, can we, by design, engineer longevity?
As I sat in my study contemplating these questions, I heard the following words: “Culture – structure – automation.” I understand that in a previous letter, we examined several definitions of culture in support of the predominant idea explored therein. However, I wish to shed light on a certain grey area, which I believe will help you better run your start-up.
Before we proceed, note that to know a language is to know a people, in that a people’s language is the summation of their thought patterns and way of life. We think in our mother tongue, where our mother tongue is the dominant language in the case that one is bilingual or multilingual. Mr. Uche, my secondary school English language teacher, opened my eyes to the fact that one can speak one’s native language in another language. Call it translanguaging.
Anyway, take the English language as an example. The language is fluid. So fluid that it absorbs other languages as it travels. Thus, the classification of English with each fighting for correctness. The point here is that the nature of the language is a pointer to the nature of the people. During colonial rule, the British preferred indirect rule, a passive approach to exerting control. I think the British are like that: never saying what they mean.
With that said, take culture to be the foundation. Those are the established values, behaviours, and philosophies that guide human interactions and decision-making. “Organizational culture is the set of values, beliefs, attitudes, systems, and rules that outline and influence employee behavior within an organization,” according to Achievers.com. In other words, it is who we are and how we do things. On this, my son, you must be clear at all times.
Once culture is in place, you must design roles, responsibilities, workflows, and hierarchies that reflect and reinforce that culture. Simply put, this is how we are organized to do what we believe. Orgvue opines that, “Organizational development (OD) is a strategic approach to enhancing a company’s efficiency and long-term success. It aligns strategy, structure, people, culture, and processes to drive sustainable growth.” This, my dear boy, we call structure. It is the framework.
The next step is Automation (the enabler). Finally, you implement tools, systems, and processes that make the structure scalable and efficient without compromising culture. Invariably, this is the how-we-make-what-we-do-repeatable-and-scalable phase. In support, Mutually Human says, “While automating a single process can offer immediate benefits, building a culture of automation is key to unlocking digital transformation’s full potential.”
This sequence does three things for you:
- It prevents soulless automation as too many businesses automate before clarifying values, leading to cold, mechanical systems.
- It maintains human-centered design. If automation flows from culture, then even tech-driven efficiencies can feel warm and empathetic. Always keep the human element. It must feel human.
- It offers a sustainable growth model as you will avoid scaling chaos since you’re grounded in clear beliefs and then building upward from them.
Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that in practice, it is different. The flow doesn’t always follow this sequence. This is because, as we grow, automation reveals structural cracks; structure challenges cultural assumptions; and culture must, nonetheless, evolve without breaking character. So, you will quickly find that these elements often influence each other in a dynamic, non-linear fashion. For instance, introducing automation can impact organizational culture, and evolving cultural values may necessitate structural changes.
Having considered these, we can safely say that culture sets the tone, structure shapes the flow, and automation scales the rhythm – but all three evolve together in a feedback loop. I have so much faith in your ability to build something that will outlive your fourth generation. Go get ‘em, boy!
Love,
Dad.
