Culture that's written on the heart, not a business card

How do you engage people so that the culture is written on the heart, not on a business card or a poster or screensaver?

In other words, how do you go from engaging the head to engaging the heart?

1. What engages the heart is beyond language

You may have language — a slogan, a mantra, a brand name, a scripture — but what engages the heart is beyond language.

A word or phrase might engage deeply, but it's not the language itself — it's what the word or phrase represents. The depth of our psyche is the realm of symbols, the pre-language part of us.

This isn't just a logo, although logos are part of the equation. It's down to symbols, shapes, sounds, and what they signify.

2. The best symbols are seeds that adapt to each heart

You need to make an idea simple if you want to plant it — and then it will adapt to the person whose mind you plant it in.

You never quite know how the seed will grow in each person. But the seed itself needs to be simple enough for all to grasp.

3. Symbols are brought to life through stories, actions — and people

You can't proclaim a symbol by itself. It has to be paired with stories, and preferably, your actions.

The lack of action is what makes most culture initiatives fail, as senior leaders don't tend to become the symbol made flesh.

But what makes a movement isn't just one person being the symbol. It's many. It must be social.

4. The symbol is used to make decisions

This is perhaps the most important thing. Most corporate "values" are weak because they are not directive. You can't "use them" to make decisions.

For a symbol to live in the heart, it must be used. It must become part of how you see, and then how you act.