Today’s guest blogger is Bill Benson with WilliamCharles Search Group located in Grand Rapids, MI and Pittsburgh, PA. WilliamCharles is an executive search and professional recruiting firm specialized in finding managerial and executive talent in finance, HR, operations, sales/marketing as well as president/CEO roles. They have a concentration of clients in Michigan, but they also work across the US. Bill is a former chair of the NPAworldwide board of directors. Bill shares his thoughts on culture renovation below.
For many family-owned and middle-market companies, culture is one of the biggest reasons for their success. It reflects the values of the founders, the relationships built over years or even decades, a commitment to customers, and a genuine sense of pride in the business. In fact, when we talk with owners and executives, they often describe their culture as one of their most valuable assets.
At the same time, as companies grow, add new leaders, professionalize operations, expand into new markets, or transition ownership to the next generation, culture needs to evolve along with the business. That’s where the idea of culture renovation comes in.
We prefer the word renovation over change because it captures what most successful organizations are actually trying to accomplish. When you renovate a house, you don’t tear down everything that makes it special. You preserve the character, strengthen the foundation, and update what no longer serves your needs. The same is true with culture.
The goal is not to replace your culture. The goal is to keep the best parts of it while making sure it supports where the company is headed next.
One of the biggest misconceptions about culture is that organizations must choose between opposing characteristics. In reality, culture exists on a series of continuums. The strongest organizations understand that success comes from finding the right balance rather than living at one extreme or the other.
Consider a few examples:
- Merit-Based ↔ Tenure-Based
How much influence comes from performance and results versus years of service and experience? - Formal ↔ Informal
Are decisions driven by established processes, or do relationships and personal influence play a larger role? - Directive ↔ Empowered
Are leaders expected to make most decisions, or are employees encouraged to take ownership and act independently? - Entrepreneurial ↔ Operationally Disciplined
- Is the organization optimized for speed and innovation, or consistency and execution?
- Speak-Up ↔ Deferential
Do employees feel comfortable challenging ideas and raising concerns, or is hierarchy a stronger influence? - Mission-Driven ↔ Market-Driven
Is the organization primarily focused on purpose and legacy, or on customer demands and market opportunities? - Centralized ↔ Distributed
Where does decision-making authority reside? - Relationship-Oriented ↔ Performance-Oriented
How does the company balance caring for people with driving accountability and results?
Most healthy organizations aren’t sitting all the way on one side of these continuums. Instead, they intentionally find the balance that best supports their strategy, their customers, and their people. This is especially important in family-owned businesses.
Many of the cultural traits that helped create success can eventually become barriers to future growth. Loyalty can sometimes make it difficult to address performance issues. Respect for tradition can slow innovation. Entrepreneurial freedom can create inconsistency. Strong deference to leadership can discourage new ideas from emerging.
None of these traits are inherently bad. In fact, they often represent strengths that contributed to the company’s success in the first place. The challenge is recognizing when the business has evolved and the culture needs to evolve with it.
The good news is that culture renovation doesn’t start with mission statements, posters, or company-wide announcements. It starts with leadership. Employees pay far more attention to what leaders do than what leaders say. The behaviors leaders reward, the decisions they make, the questions they ask, and the way they treat people ultimately shape culture more than any formal initiative ever could.
And while every company’s culture is unique, the best cultures tend to share one thing in common: They create an environment of genuine collaboration.
In these organizations, egos are checked at the door. Leaders listen as much as they speak. People feel comfortable offering different perspectives. Healthy debate is encouraged. Decisions are made based on thoughtful discussion rather than title or status. Most importantly, there is a shared belief that the best idea wins, not the founder’s idea. Not the executive’s idea. Not the idea from the person who has been with the company the longest. The best idea.
When people believe their voice matters, engagement rises. Innovation improves. Problems surface earlier. Teams become more agile. Trust grows. And organizations become better equipped to navigate change.
For family-owned businesses, culture renovation is ultimately an exercise in stewardship. It means honoring the values, relationships, and traditions that built the company while ensuring the culture remains relevant for the next chapter of growth.
The goal is not to become a different company. The goal is to become the next, better version of the company you already are. The organizations that do this well preserve what made them successful while building the capabilities that will continue this success for years to come.