This past summer, my family and I travelled to Europe where we spent time touring three different countries. In addition to trying new foods, the thing I like most about touring Europe is seeing all the old buildings and bridges.

To see structures with stone foundations that are hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old is truly remarkable. They were built with longevity in mind, from materials that can withstand weather and time.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the longevity of our organization. We are currently going through some changes in how we organize ourselves, and, as a result, I am thinking about how these changes may impact our future. The organization I founded is now close to 15 years old – that’s a blink of an eye to some, and yet it’s a long time when you consider that the vast majority of new businesses fail within their first year. But what about the next 15, 50, or even 100 years? Will CTRI and ACHIEVE still be here in the years to come?

I believe there are things we can focus on now to secure our future and longevity, and the first is culture – a healthy workplace culture acts as a stone foundation on which strong organizations are built. Cultures, whether they’re good or bad, tend to become solidified over time. And organizations with healthy cultures will be able to weather whatever challenges come their way.

The key to building an organization that will stand the test of time is culture and people.

The second, and closely tied to the first, is people. The people in our organization help define our culture – they are the individual “stones” that make up our organization’s culture. Therefore, as we go through leadership transitions, and when we bring new people into the organization, it is vital to pay close attention to how and who we hire. In doing so, we work to solidify our foundation for the future.

The keys to longevity for modern-day organizations are culture and people – I am confident that by focusing on these two things, our future will be bright!

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