Your Business — Culture or Cult

With the rampant rise of social media influencers, Bitcoin masters, and multi-billionaire tycoons, I have been struck by the focus of the leadership in many of these organizations. Have been watching the role of business leaders rise from disciplined, focused, sometimes selfish individuals who manage to grow the Business to demi-gods driven by their desires, greed, and manifest need for power and money.

Unfortunately, many followers have chosen to tag along for the ride, hoping they can capture some of the fallout, bump the demi-god off the pedestal, and replace them if they are charismatic enough. At the same time, the plethora of followers competing for supremacy while others in the organization are considered nothing but a stepping stone and dispensable, almost to the point of building a caste system rather than a healthy corporate culture.

Great material has been written over the last 75 years regarding good leadership. Still, it often gets distorted, taken out of context, replicated without consideration of current culture, or leveraged for selfish purposes. Unfortunately, that is part of our human mentality, which many will say makes it ok. Still, I genuinely believe that society cannot survive without considerable attention being paid to the interdependence we have on each other and the contributions that each human being can make to the growth of any institution or organization if empowered.

I still believe that one of the best descriptions of leadership and teamwork came from World War II and the thoughts of Major Dick Winters in his memoirs, “Beyond Band of Brothers”:

Leadership at the Point of the Bayonet

Ten Principles for Success

1. “Strive to be a leader of character, competence and courage.”

2. “Lead from the front. Say “Follow me!” and then lead the way.”

3. “Stay in top physical shape — physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.”

4. “Develop your team. You will develop teamwork if you know your people, are fair in setting realistic goals and expectations and lead by example.”

5. “Delegate responsibility to your subordinates and let them do their jobs. You can’t do a good job if you don’t have a chance to use your imagination and creativity.”

6. “Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind.”

7. “Remain humble. Don’t worry about who receives the credit. Never let the power of authority go to your head.”

8. “Take a moment of self-reflection. Look at yourself in the mirror every night and ask yourself if you did your best.”

9. “True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. The key to a successful leader is to earn respect — not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.”

10. “Hang tough! Never, ever, give up.”

Major Dick Winters Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division

Beyond Band of Brothers. 2006

Even with this succinct message on leadership, we are enduring the trials and errors of characters like SBF and the FTX debacle of November 2022 and the perceived meltdown of Twitter after Elon Musk’s purchase in October 2022. Both of these instances demonstrate how a corporate culture can be turned into a cult, and many will accept it as legitimate and correct.

What does a business Cult look like?

Here are a few clues for us to consider. Not all of them need to be present, but the ones that are usually amplified significantly. These are in no particular order. None of them, in isolation, will generate a cult, but they will add up if not dealt with.

1. The Leader is seen as infallible and a genius in his own right.

2. The Leader is usually charismatic, high-energy, egotistical, demanding, unforgiving, and focused only on their plan for the organization, as they are the only ones capable of making that determination. Humility is considered a weakness.

3. Inclusion is based on arbitrary policies, guidelines, and the Leader’s whims.

4. Uniformity is demanded, not suggested. Group Think is mandatory.

5. There is no way the Leader will allow anyone to criticize or question him.

6. The rank of individuals is based on devotion and adherence to the Leader.

7. The organization is created as exclusive and requires rigid, if not impossible devotion.

8. The organization maintains secrecy in all areas, with only the Leader and a few subordinates accessing the truth as it is rather than the propaganda-driven truth.

9. There are sanctions, punishment, and pressure on all members to tow the corporate line.

10. Indoctrination begins with the first day of entry into the organization and never stops. It may take place as physical, emotional, social, or intellectual training (Brain Washing)

11. Company employees are discouraged from discussing with outsiders, competitors, or regulators except to gain the information necessary to combat them.

12. A distinct caste system (hierarchy) within the company has obstacles built into each layer, limiting the type, number, and social nature of the lower levels penetrating the upper levels.

13. The jargon within the company is often shrouded in acronyms, unique vocabulary, or codes so that only those with special “knowledge is allowed to participate.

14. Many times plagued with gender or race-specific limitations that are subtly communicated by the Leader and enforced by an elite set of deputies. Begins at the front door so they don’t have to deal with the issues once someone is allowed entry.

15. Promotions are generally subjective based on alignment with the Leader’s predetermined goals, guidelines, and dictates.

16. Loyalty is perceived by the ruling caste and based on the interpretation of communications, actions, and willingness to play by the Leader’s rules.

17. Trust is a one-way street, every employee must trust the Leader, but the Leader is not bound to trust the lower levels of employees. There are many times a paranoic distrust of those below the Leader.

18. Communications are generally one-way, the top-down period. They are often shrouded in jargon, cryptic slogans and phrases, and outright lies.

19. Critical thinking is not permitted without the express permission of the Leader. It is not up to the rank and file to think only to do and please the Leader.

20. There is no room for negotiation or effective collaboration unless it is done at the direction of the leadership team and according to their rules, guidelines, and monitoring.

While I don’t claim to have all the answer’s I do not know that we as a world will only survive if we can learn to work together to meet the challenges we are facing today. The current divisionary cults that are taking place in politics and business must be met head on with common sense, intelligence, compassion, forgiveness and a willingness to battle for everyone’s rights, not just a few.