Beyond the Brand: Why Business Decision Makers Buy Into Strong Cultures

IN COLLABORATION
WITH
Why Business Decision Makers
Buy Into Strong Cultures
gyro.com/beyondthebrand
BEYOND THE BRAND:

2 BEYOND THE BRAND: WHY BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS BUY INTO STRONG CULTURES
FORTUNE Knowledge Group
A NOTE FROM
I have lost count of the number of conferences I’ve attended where
people talk about changing the culture at their companies. But what
exactly does “culture” mean when it comes to making an emotional
connection with customers? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines
culture as “a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a
place or organization (such as a business).”
When people talk about changing culture, they usually mean improving
it and making it more remarkable. And too often these types of
declarations are made only after a company has experienced a setback.
In contrast, consider some of the world’s most successful businesses.
Those on FORTUNE’s lists of Most Admired Companies and Best
Companies to Work For (see p. 23) have a number of things in
common, most notably a strong corporate culture. Employees aren’t
the only people who benefit from such an environment; customers,
vendors, and shareholders (heck, even regulators) appreciate great
companies. They tend to do business with integrity. They inspire
high levels of trust. They strive for excellence.
IN THIS REPORT, WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE WAYS IN
WHICH CORPORATE CULTURE AFFECTS HOW COMPANIES
DO BUSINESS—IN PARTICULAR, THE WAY THEY DEVELOP
LONG—TERM RELATIONSHIPS.
This builds on our 2014 report, “Only Human: The Emotional Logic of
Business Decisions,” in which we quantified the important influence
of emotional, situational, and cultural factors on business decisions.
Figuring prominently in those decisions is the goal of creating lasting
bonds with other companies in order to enrich business and improve
the bottom line. In the following pages, we examine the types of
company attributes that promote confidence and lead to these
important long-term relationships.
We hope this report will shed valuable light on the role of emotion and
culture in the way we make business decisions.
Eric Danetz
Publisher
FORTUNE
Eric Danetz

3BEYOND THE BRAND: WHY BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS BUY INTO STRONG CULTURES
There is nothing more powerful than the culture of a business for
establishing an emotional connection with the customer. It is more
powerful than a reputation for dominance and innovation, and it is more
powerful than the allure of short-term financial gain. These are the most
telling facts that we discovered when reaching out to more than 500 top
decision-makers.
Too often company culture is discussed but not properly nurtured and
elevated. Why? Because creating a successful culture is one of the
most difficult tasks a company can undertake. However, frequently the
solution is closer than it might seem—as this report reveals.
In the age of transparency, where anyone can find out anything about
any company, it’s up to businesses to safeguard their cultures.
It’s not easy.
THERE IS NOTHING HARDER THAN CULTURE BUILDING
BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE AUTHENTIC AND IT NEEDS TO
BE FOCUSED. Authenticity can be achieved by getting back to the
foundations, by rebuilding from the purity of the idea that started it all.
It’s worth it. People vastly underestimate the external value of culture.
They tend to focus on the internal benefits—the ability to keep people
and improve performance. But culture has huge external benefits. So
much so, that the vast majority of respondents in this survey say that
culture is the key factor not only in deciding whom to do business with,
but also how long the relationship will last.
As builders of cultures, our own included, we know that businesses
that apply an inside-out approach are the businesses that are winning.
This report offers tangible evidence and proof of this fact. Enjoy.
Christoph Becker
ceo+cco
gyro, the global ideas shop
Christoph Becker
gyro
A NOTE FROM

WHO TOOK THE SURVEY?
The FORTUNE Knowledge Group, in
collaboration with gyro, a global advertising
agency, conducted a worldwide survey in
June 2015 on whether a sense of purpose
affects the way a company is perceived by
its corporate partners and whether it has
an effect on its business relationships. The
sample comprises 521 respondents, 40%
based in the United States, 40% in Europe,
and 20% in Asia. All are directors and
above, with 24% chief operating officers and
13% chief marketing officers. They all have
influence over key business decisions, with
26% in operations and production, 18%
in sales, 15% in marketing, and 13% in
general management. All of the companies
surveyed have annual revenues of $500
million or more, and 26% have revenues
of $1 billion to $10 billion.
METHODOLOGY
SENIOR EXECUTIVES INTERVIEWED:
Bob Aiken
CEO, Essendant
Ashutosh Banerjee
Chief Marketing Officer for
Life Care Solutions, GE Healthcare
Heidi Browning
Senior Vice President, Strategic Solutions,
Pandora
Kate Healy
Managing Director, Marketing,
TD Ameritrade Institutional
Patrick O’Hara
Global CSO, gyro
John Stackhouse
Senior Vice President, Office of the CEO,
Royal Bank of Canada
Diane Vaccaro
Chief Marketing Officer, Kmart Apparel,
Sears Holdings
Kreg Weigand
Vice President, Internal Audit, Target

STAND FOR SOMETHING: Relationships are founded on values. When choosing a
corporate partner, 59% of executives say that knowing what values a company stands for is
much more important than innovation (22%) or market dominance (20%). Companies that
succeed in developing long-term relationships prefer working with companies that clearly
define what they stand for.
DIAL UP THE SOUL OF YOUR BUSINESS: A company’s original idea is often its best.
Eighty percent of respondents agree that a company’s biggest idea is the one upon which
it was built. And whether a company is old or new, all stakeholders—both internal and
external—should have the opportunity to share in its sense of purpose. This survey suggests
that the penalty for losing your culture and sense of purpose may be losing your customers.
LIVE BY YOUR MISSION: A mission statement is a guide to conducting business
according to consistent aspirations and values. Eighty-one percent of executives feel that
companies that are successful at building long-term relationships make a direct correlation
between what they believe in and the way they conduct their business.
PUT YOUR CULTURE TO WORK: Approximately two-fifths of respondents believe a
strong sense of purpose helps a company attract better-quality employees and enables
employees to act more collaboratively, both internally and externally. And the benefits extend
beyond the walls of the business: 89% of respondents agree that great companies build
cultures that consistently create excellent customer experiences.
SHARE YOUR GOALS: Talk openly about aspirations and values. Eighty-six percent of
respondents say they are sharing their company’s purpose and values with key stakeholders
more than they did five years ago.
BE DIFFERENT (IT’S OKAY): Culture is an important factor in building a successful
long-term relationship, but when corporate ties fray, it won’t be because of cultural
differences. Much more damaging is losing trust (72%) or internal policies that prevented
collaboration (69%). Only 14% say culture contributed to corporate relationships going bad.
KEY FINDINGS

In the age of transparency, a strong corporate
culture has become the primary driver of
long-term business relationships, according
to more than 500 global executives surveyed
by the FORTUNE Knowledge Group in
collaboration with gyro.
While companies increasingly rely on
massive amounts of hard data to improve
decision making, it is a remarkable truth
that soft factors like a business partner’s
values, mission, and message are often
the most differentiating. Whether for
GE, Google or TD Ameritrade, these
underestimated qualities have become
primary competitive advantages.
Our latest survey examining the role of
emotion in business decision-making
reveals that the majority of top executives
seek long-term corporate relationships
with culture-rich companies that stay
true to their founding purpose and are
not shy about sharing their values with
key stakeholders.
CORPORATE CULTURE:
THE DECIDING FACTOR
Indeed, the power of culture to lure talent
and align corporate functions is well known.
BUT OUR RESEARCH FINDS THAT THE
SAME ATTRIBUTES ARE EQUALLY LIKELY
TO MAKE A COMPANY DESIRABLE TO WORK
WITH AS TO WORK FOR.
These new findings build upon a
groundbreaking survey conducted by the
FORTUNE Knowledge Group in collaboration
with gyro in 2014 entitled, “Only Human:
The Emotional Logic of Business Decisions.”
It found that executives rely on intangible
differentiators (such as culture or reputation)
more than quantifiable differentiators as a
way of judging potential business partners
(see sidebar on p. 7). To dig deeper, we
focused specifically on culture’s true impact
on business decisions. Here are some
valuable insights about this oft-undervalued
part of the business equation.

In the age of big data, it is often
assumed that the analytical and
rational are the primary drivers of
business decision making. Our 2014
survey, “Only Human: The Emotional
Logic of business decisions,” found
just the opposite. While a majority of
senior business executives believe that
data is an important tool when making
business decisions, it is subjective
factors and reputation that truly
play the pivotal role.
Sixty-five percent of the 720
executives surveyed say subjective
factors that can’t be quantified
increasingly make a difference
when evaluating competing business
proposals. In many ways the deluge of
data is making it more important to
emphasize intangibles. In fact, 62
percent of executives say it’s often
necessary to rely on “gut feelings”
and that soft factors should be given
the same weight as hard ones.
OF EXECUTIVES SAY IT’S OFTEN
NECESSARY TO RELY ON “GUT FEELINGS”
AND THAT SOFT FACTORS SHOULD BE
GIVEN THE SAME WEIGHT AS HARD ONES.
62%
HARD TO QUANTIFY,
BUT DIFFICULT TO MISS

-
EUROPEAN RESPONDENTS PLACE LESS
EMPHASIS ON WHETHER A BUSINESS
PARTNER IS WIDELY ADMIRED.
EUROPEAN
NORTH AMERICA
13% 7+ %
WHEN IT COMES TO EMOTIONS IN THE WORKPLACE,
NORTH AMERICANS ARE MORE LIKELY TO REPORT THAT
OVERRIDING PERSONAL FEELINGS ARE PREFERABLE.
EUROPEAN
NORTH AMERICA
9- % 10+ %
REGIONAL DISPARITIES
How respondents from around the globe rated themselves
compared to the survey average:

North American respondents feel
better about their ability to build
long-term relationships compared to
those from Europe and Asia Pacific
regions (7% more than average rate
themselves very good or better).
North American respondents are also
sharing company values a lot more
(7% more than average) than their
Asia Pacific counterparts (6% less
than average).
European respondents place less
emphasis on whether a business
partner is widely admired (13% less
than average) compared to those
in North America and Asia Pacific
(both 7% more than average).
When it comes to emotions in the
workplace, North Americans are
more likely than average (+10%)
to report that overriding personal
feelings are preferable, while
Europeans are less likely than
average to prefer this approach
(9% less than average).
When comparing respondents by
job title and function, CMOs rely
more heavily on gut instincts for
decision-making than do COOs
(+13% versus -11%).
People in IT and finance are
sharing their values a lot less
than average (-14%).
NORTH AMERICAN RESPONDENTS RATED THEMSELVES
ABOVE AVERAGE AT BUILDING LONG-TERM
RELATIONSHIPS COMPARED TO ASIA PACIFIC.
ASIA PACIFIC
NORTH AMERICA
6- % 7+ %
ASIAN-PACIFIC RESPONDENTS ARE LESS LIKELY
TO SHARE COMPANY VALUES THAN
NORTH AMERICAN RESPONDENTS.
ASIA PACIFIC
NORTH AMERICA
6- % 7+ %

Businesses seek out cultures they can buy into.
The choice to do business with one company over another is driven by many factors.
A corporate partner can open markets that would otherwise be closed. Its strong brand can
produce a halo effect for its suppliers. But one of the most important drivers is culture, in all
its complex manifestations (see below).
STAND FOR SOMETHING
10
>1 FOUNDING IDEA.
Every company starts from an idea that
inspired the founder or founders to
establish the enterprise.
>2 VISION OR
MISSION STATEMENT.
What is the purpose of the organization?
The company’s mission statement seeks
to answer this question.
>3 VALUES.
The company’s values are at the heart of its
culture. They should be apparent to every
employee and every business partner.
SIX INGREDIENTS OF CORPORATE CULTURE
Corporate culture is hard to measure, but it is omnipresent. It’s what makes each company
unique. Corporate culture consists of six elements:
>4 PRACTICES AND
PROCESSES.
Do decisions require many layers of
approval, or do managers enjoy a high
degree of autonomy? Business practices
and processes help to determine, and
are an expression of, a firm’s culture.
>5 NARRATIVE.
Every company has a history, but not all build
a strong story around it. Often, the richer the
narrative, the stronger the culture.
>6 PEOPLE.
Employees, customers, suppliers and
owners embody the culture and also drive it.

SIX INGREDIENTS OF CORPORATE CULTURE
VISION OR MISSION STATEMENT
FOUNDING IDEA
VALUES
PRACTICES AND
PROCESSES
NARRATIVE
PEOPLE

12 BEYOND THE BRAND: WHY BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS BUY INTO STRONG CULTURES12
OF EXECUTIVES SAY THAT KNOWING
WHAT VALUES A COMPANY STANDS FOR
IS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT IN CHOOSING
A PARTNER THAN INNOVATION (22%)
OR MARKET DOMINATION (20%).
59% “It is worth making
short-term financial
sacrifices to cultivate
long-term relationships.”
- Kate Healy, Managing Director, Marketing,
In this survey, we have asked what
characteristics of corporate culture
executives prefer when building a business
relationship. Remarkably, 59% of executives
say that knowing what values a company
stands for is much more important in
choosing a partner than innovation (22%)
or market dominance (20%). Notably, 62%
of companies that say they are very good at
developing long-term relationships prefer
to do business with companies that clearly
define what they stand for.

“We immerse ourselves
in the culture of our
corporate partners.”
- Ashutosh Banerjee, Chief Marketing
Officer for Life Care Solutions, GE Healthcare
Ashutosh Banerjee, Chief Marketing Officer
for Life Care Solutions at GE Healthcare,
offers a very personal way of thinking about
corporate relationships. “We always like
to think of it as similar to a marriage; it’s
all about mutual benefit and about being
content with each other. As long as both
partners see value in the relationship,
it will continue, but you have to work to
understand each other and communicate
regularly. We immerse ourselves in the
culture of our corporate partners,” he says.
Building lasting connections to other
companies entails staying loyal in bad
times as well as good. In the early 2000s,
TD Ameritrade Institutional was regarded as
the custodian for smaller financial advisers.
By continuing to support their growth when
markets were difficult, TD earned important,
loyal partners that have returned the favor.
“Our customers have stuck with us when
we have had hiccups,” says Kate Healy,
Managing Director of Marketing at
the company. This mirrors survey results.
Sixty-nine percent of respondents agree
that “it is worth making short-term
financial sacrifices to cultivate long-term
relationships.”
13
OF THOSE WHO ARE GOOD AT DEVELOPING
LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS VALUE
KNOWING WHAT A COMPANY STANDS FOR.
62%

Harking back to the founding idea is
a key differentiator.
Building a culture may seem difficult, but
going back to what a business was created
to achieve can provide a solid foundation.
According to 80% of respondents, the
biggest idea of a company is often the one
upon which the business was built.
Healy says TD Ameritrade was able to bring
in more financial advisers in challenging
markets because “we have accessibility
and humanness the other firms don’t have.
We realized it’s a differentiator that we could
take advantage of.”
As inspiration for this idea, she cites Simon
Sinek, an author who has popularized the
notion that successful companies clearly
know “why” they are in business. His TED
talk “How great leaders inspire action” has
received 23.5 million views. In it, Sinek
says: “If you don’t know why you do what
you do…how will you ever get people to
vote for you, or buy something from you, or,
more importantly, be loyal?” TD Ameritrade’s
leadership team spent an entire day looking
back on the evolution of the company since
its founding in Omaha, Neb., in 1971 and
asked: “Why do we do what we do?”
DIAL UP THE SOUL
OF YOUR BUSINESS
“We got into this business to challenge the
traditional financial advice model, because
we truly believe the American consumer
deserves better. To meet their goals they
need an adviser that is transparent, objective
and puts the client’s interests first. Because
of that, we have created this business to
support the financial advisers that support
the consumer,” says Healy.
Since its inception in 1892, GE (consistently
one of FORTUNE’s Most Admired
Companies — see p. 23) was built on
innovation. “If we stay true to this initial idea
and keep it strong, we can make sure our
culture flows from the idea,” says Banerjee.
But how can a $149 billion conglomerate
stay nimble? “One way is to immerse
ourselves in startups’ culture,” he says,
adding that GE executives regularly spend
time with startup companies “to shock
ourselves when we see what the outside
world is doing and learn from them to see
how we can adapt and improve.”
EXECUTIVES WANT TO DO BUSINESS
WITH COMPANIES THAT LIVE BY THEIR
VALUES. Given the fact that every culture is
unique, the founding idea often represents
an untapped opportunity for companies to
distance themselves from the competition.

Conduct business according to your
aspirations and values as a company.
Tying day-to-day operations back to the
“why” is powerful. Eighty-one percent of
executives feel that what companies believe
in and the way they conduct their business
correlates directly with building successful
long-term relationships. After all, the values
that a business promotes end up governing
decisions made on the ground. A company’s
mission statement is the most precise
articulation of those values, and there’s
consensus that a strong, purpose-driven
stance matters. Ninety-eight percent say
having such mission statements is beneficial,
and more than half of these hope “more
companies will be purpose-driven in the
future.” Less than 2% say it is a distraction
from things that matter to the business.
A mission statement encapsulates the
reason why a company is in business and
its purpose. It’s easy to lose sight of the
purpose, so it pays to be reminded of it.
Some companies such as Royal Bank of
Canada (RBC), however, don’t use the
phrase “mission statement,” but build
their navigation around purpose and vision.
“Purpose” is why an organization exists and
“vision” is what they are trying to achieve.
LIVE BY YOUR MISSION
“Companies make choices every minute
about whom they deal with, and the best
ones to work with are those you are aligned
with in terms of values. It’s a good way of
filtering potential corporate partners,” says
John Stackhouse, Senior Vice President in
the office of the CEO at RBC.
That’s why Pandora, the streaming music
service, lives by six principles (see p. 16)
crafted by the founders. “People here are
proud to be working at Pandora and want to
share the reason why they are here,” says
Heidi Browning, the company’s Senior Vice
President, Strategic Solutions. “The secret is
you have to live and breathe the principles;
the moment the company doesn’t stand
behind them, they are meaningless.”
“Companies make choices every
minute about whom they deal
with, and the best ones to work
with are those you are aligned
with in terms of values.”
- John Stackhouse, Senior Vice President in
the Office of the CEO at Royal Bank of Canada
15

Companies can enjoy a competitive
advantage when they live by their principles.
In the survey, 89% of respondents agree
that great companies build cultures that
create excellent customer experiences.
Diane Vaccaro, Chief Marketing Officer,
Kmart Apparel, Sears Holdings says
it’s useful to go back to these founding
principles regularly: “It is the North Star
that helps set objectives for an organization.
When we talk about transformation at Kmart,
the core principles are the same, but the
language and nuances could change as the
environment does.”
As Vaccaro notes, this does not mean that
companies should be stuck in the past.
Patrick O’Hara, gyro’s Global Chief
Strategy Officer, believes that challenging
the mission statement can itself be a useful
management exercise. “Disruptions
come so fast that companies can’t afford
to be complacent.
PANDORA’S SIX PRINCIPLES
Crafted by Co-Founder Tim Westergren
WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE LISTENER IS GOOD FOR THE ADVERTISER
WE ARE ONE TEAM
WE TRUST EACH OTHER
WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF HUMILITY
WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PERSONAL
WE VALUE MUSIC AND THOSE WHO MAKE IT

17BEYOND THE BRAND: WHY BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS BUY INTO STRONG CULTURES 17
89%
OF RESPONDENTS AGREE THAT
GREAT COMPANIES BUILD CULTURES
THAT CREATE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCES.
We see that while the values and purpose
of a company shouldn’t change, sometimes
the mission might need to be reconsidered
in the context of marketplace inflections
and disruptions.”
In mid-2015, RBC was in the process of better
articulating its corporate values as well as the
purpose of the company. This had not been
done at RBC before, despite its 151-year
history. Why now? In part, because RBC’s
leaders found that clients, employees and
communities were increasingly calling for
clear sense of purpose.
The new language will spotlight RBC’s strong
global growth plans as well as the need to
be flexible and innovative amid these rapidly
changing times. “The core values are the
same,” says Stackhouse. Through the process,
however, the mission “becomes crystallized
and strategic. The way we approach the
mission is sharper because the world is
changing so much.”
“While the values and purpose
of a company shouldn’t change,
sometimes the mission might
need to be reconsidered in
the context of marketplace
inflections and disruptions.”
– Patrick O’Hara, Global CSO, gyro

Purpose has operational benefits.
All stakeholders—both internal and
external—should have the opportunity to
share a company’s sense of purpose. In fact,
41% of respondents believe that A STRONG
SENSE OF PURPOSE HELPS A COMPANY
ATTRACT BETTER QUALITY EMPLOYEES.
One who firmly agrees is Kreg Weigand, who
spoke in his role as a partner, Risk Advisory
Services, at KPMG, before joining Target as
Vice President of Internal Audit in August
2015. “If a company is not communicating
its mission, then it will miss out on the next
generation of rising stars, because the
best people won’t want to work there,” he
says. “People have to feel connected to the
organization and feel that there is a larger
purpose overall. If you want them to be
passionate, they have to be aligned with
the mission.”
This is an example of a tangible benefit
derived from seemingly unquantifiable
factors (see sidebar).
PUT YOUR CULTURE TO WORK
MEASURING THE BENEFITS
OF A STRONG CULTURE
One reason why corporate culture is
not paid as much attention as other
factors is because it seems hard to
quantify. But it is possible, as
Harvard Business School Professor
Emeritus James Heskett argues in
The Culture Cycle: How to Shape
the Unseen Force that Transforms
Performance (Pearson FT Press, 2011.)
“Organizational culture is not a soft
concept,” he says. “Its impact on
profit can be measured and quantified.
Culturally committed employees
are more likely to remain in an
organization, leading to lower hiring
costs, higher productivity, stronger
customer loyalty, and better sales,”
he says. His research shows that,
overall, up to half the difference in
operating profit between companies can
be attributed to strong cultures.

19BEYOND THE BRAND: WHY BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS BUY INTO STRONG CULTURES 19
“Demonstrating a shared value and belief
with customers can be a powerful driver to
brand preference, which ultimately drives
sales,” says Bob Aiken, CEO of Essendant,
the fastest and most convenient solution for
workplace essentials. “Clear communication
of your organization’s purpose provides a
bond that increases the brand value with
existing and potential customers.”
For example, the Essendant Charitable
Foundation is led by a board comprised of
associates from across its businesses and
operating locations. “While an organization’s
purpose-driven culture can be exhibited
in a number of ways, the central element
is that the program or service is not
driven by product revenue, but is instead
measured in social reward,” says Aiken.
“Essendant’s approach to purpose is driven
by the passions of all of our stakeholders —
including management, associates, and even
customers — to ensure that the company’s
contributions are authentic and beneficial to
all involved.”
What’s more, 41% agree that a strong sense
of purpose enables better internal and
external collaboration. Kmart buys from a
wide variety of apparel manufacturers that
contribute toward its multi-billion dollar
annual revenues. If they don’t collaborate
closely, orders will be delivered late, and
Kmart might miss fickle consumer trends.
Vaccaro says the factors that lead to good
collaboration are “a culture of trust and
transparency and a seriously defined
purposefulness in setting objectives
together.” She adds, “There are a lot of
soft factors involved, but if both sides are
not crystal clear on the deliverables, the
relationship can go off the rails.”
Soft factors can also have an operational
impact. “We have seen how gyro clients like
HP, BlackBerry and John Deere are using
sustainability to impact the bottom line by
encouraging employees and partners to
seek out better, more efficient ways to run
their operations. What used to be window
dressing is now part of the infrastructure,”
says gyro’s O’Hara.
It has become clear that businesses are
interested not only in profit, but also in
purpose. THREE-FIFTHS OF RESPONDENTS
PREFER TO DO BUSINESS WITH
COMPANIES THAT ARE INTENT ON DOING
WHAT’S RIGHT EVEN WHEN IT DOESN’T
NECESSARILY MAXIMIZE REVENUE.
“Demonstrating a shared value and
belief with customers can be a
powerful driver to brand preference.”
– Bob Aiken, CEO of Essendant

All stakeholders should have the opportunity
to share a company’s sense of purpose.
Companies recognize that sharing their
principles can be good for business. That
is why they should talk openly about their
aspirations and values. This can be a source
of pride. Indeed, increasing numbers of
companies see the value of telling people
what their business principles are. Eighty-six
percent of respondents say they are sharing
their company’s purpose and values with
key stakeholders more than they did five
years ago. COMPANIES THAT ARTICULATE THEIR
PURPOSE CAN BUILD GOODWILL IN THE MARKET
AND STRENGTHEN THEIR CULTURE.
The digital world demands transparency,
particularly channels such as Facebook and
Twitter. The immediacy and uncontrived
nature of social media makes it an important
tool for communicating corporate culture
to external audiences. Indeed, 86% of
respondents have increased their use of this
medium to reach out to new collaborators.
SHARE YOUR GOALS
“Social media has a huge effect on corporate
culture because it allows business to be
human and sometimes even adds a bit
of humor to interactions with customers,”
says Healy. When John Stackhouse was
Editor-in-Chief of Canada’s Globe and Mail,
before his current job at RBC, he observed
the powerful effect social media had on the
newspaper. “It is a wonderful challenger to
corporate mores, especially on transparency
and on speed. Companies are required to
respond to the public’s concerns, questions,
and challenges transparently and quickly,”
he says. “If you don’t, you will be savaged.
Many organizations don’t like social media
or don’t get it, but it’s a very good window on
corporate culture.”
“Social media has a huge effect
on corporate culture because
it allows business to be human
and sometimes even adds a bit
of humor.”
- Kate Healy, Managing Director, Marketing,

If a firm does business only with like-minded
companies, it has no opportunities to learn.
Exposure helps it stay fresh by forcing the
company to question its assumptions. Far
from corroding a business relationship,
differences can hold it together. GE’s
Banerjee says: “The best way of doing that
is to go out to meet different companies with
different cultures to share our own purpose
with them and see how we can change.”
BE DIFFERENT (IT’S OKAY)
21
WHEN CORPORATE TIES BREAK
RESPONDENTS SAY WHY RELATIONSHIPS FRAY:
14+ %
INTERNAL POLICIES PREVENT
COLLABORATION
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
71%
LACK OF TRUST
When corporate ties fray, dissimilar
cultures aren’t blamed for failure. Lack
of trust (71%) or internal policies that
prevented collaboration (69%) are viewed
as much more damaging. Only 14% say
culture contributed to significant corporate
relationships going bad.
Corporate culture is a powerful way for companies to differentiate themselves.
69%

“A simple test to a really deep
relationship is that we had bumpy
moments and had to sit and talk with
[Taco Bell] about our challenges, and
together we solved those problems.”
- Heidi Browning, Senior Vice President,
Strategic Solutions, Pandora
22
14%
A SMALL PERCENTAGE SAY CULTURE
CONTRIBUTED TO CORPORATE
RELATIONSHIPS GOING BAD.
However, it’s critical to get some things
right from the start. Stackhouse says RBC’s
purchase of City National Corp., a bank
based in Los Angeles for $5.4 billion, “was
the result of a conversation that took place
between the two CEOs over the course of
two years and came down to shared values.”
Conversely, it’s hard for two companies to
get along if their values differ significantly:
RBC’s acquisition of Centura Bank of North
Carolina in 2001 failed a decade later
because RBC and Centura were not aligned
in terms of vision and how to get there.
The survey shows that financial headwinds
and day-to-day friction are not necessarily
reasons for failed business relationships.
Executives can overcome these difficulties;
they are not deal breakers. In fact, an
honest difference of opinion can clear the
air and enhance trust. One of Pandora’s
strongest relationships is with Taco Bell,
which has advertised on the music service
for more than four years. But it has not all
been smooth sailing. “Our relationship is
even stronger, and they thanked us for
our honesty,” says Browning.

Business decision makers buy into
strong cultures.
At a time when trust and reputation are
so highly valued yet in such short supply,
companies have a responsibility to consider
the best ways to develop strong corporate
relationships that will last. Executives need to
reprioritize their company’s most important
assets to take full account of the human
factors that are important for cementing
long-term relationships.
Many companies pay lip service to the
idea that their employees are the source
of their greatest strength — but culture
building goes beyond having the right talent.
Excellent employees need to be connected
CONCLUSION
by shared aspirations. Founding principles,
mission statements and shared values
can bind people and customers together
and serve as a catalyst for long-term
business success.
Executives are human. Business decisions
are as much about buying into an idea as
buying a product, and the most powerful
idea of all is the one on which a business is
built. By using this idea to establish a strong
culture and share it externally, companies
can attract the kind of business partners
who will remain loyal for years to come.
THE ANNUAL BENCHMARK OF REPUTATION AND CULTURE: FORTUNE REVEALS
THE MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES AND THE BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR
FORTUNE’s Most Admired Companies 2015 FORTUNE’s Best Companies to Work For 2015
APPLE GOOGLE
GOOGLE THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY ACUITY
AMAZON.COM SAS INSTITUTE
STARBUCKS ROBERT W. BAIRD
WALT DISNEY EDWARD JONES
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES WEGMANS FOOD MARKETS
AMERICAN EXPRESS SALESFORCE
GENERAL ELECTRIC GENENTECH
COCA-COLA CAMDEN PROPERTY TRUST
23

IN COLLABORATION
WITH
© 2015 TIME INC.
www.gyro.com
The FORTUNE Knowledge Group (FKG) is a
custom business intelligence division of Time
Inc., publisher of FORTUNE. FKG develops
proprietary research and analysis on a range
of issues, such as management, regulatory
compliance, innovation and strategy. The
views expressed by FKG do not necessarily
reflect the views of FORTUNE editors.
As a global ideas shop, our mission is to
create ideas that are humanly relevant.
gyro is the 2015 and 2014 BMA Global
business-to-business Agency of the Year
and an Advertising Age Top 50 agency. gyro
also serves as Global Marketing Advisor to
FORTUNE. Our 600 creative minds in 14
offices work with top companies including
BlackBerry, Cars.com, DuPont, eBay,
FedEx, HP, John Deere, SAP, Tate & Lyle,
TD Ameritrade, Time Inc. and USG.

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