Let’s take a moment to define what a ‘strong culture’ means.  Here’s what it doesn’t mean:

• Foosball tables and happy hours
• Free food
• One big party
• All fun, all the time
• A culture just like Zappos, Netflix, JetBlue, Google or anyone else

A strong culture is all about alignment.  Alignment of everything!  From the vision you’re all trying to realize and the values that actually dictate team member behaviors, to the go-to-market strategy and objectives, to the way you measure and reward performance – all must be aligned. A strong culture is the environment created through this alignment – it’s like the water to a fish.  You can’t necessarily point to it, but you can feel it – and observe it – all around you.

One of the better (and simpler) models I’ve seen for cultural alignment was developed by Marvin Bower, founder of McKinsey & Co.:

It’s the alignment between the company’s values, objectives, strategy, tactics and controls that ultimately create a strong, high-functioning environment in support of the company’s vision/mission.