GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Getting to Know
Steve Simpson
What inspired you to start your
business? What are your goals
and values?
I originally focused on helping
companies improve their customer
service. I soon realized that I was having
a big impact in some companies and
less so in others. When I thought this
through, I realized that the organisation’s
culture was dramatically impacting on
the cut-through of my work. For that
reason, I started working on culture
and created my own concept of UGRs
– unwritten ground rules – that helps
people understand culture in simple and
practical terms.
UGRs are people’s perceptions of ‘this is
the way we do things around here’. They
drive people’s behaviours yet they are
seldom talked about openly.
Examples of UGRs we have found in the
workplace include:
• At our meetings it isn’t worth
complaining because nothing will get
done
• The only time anyone gets spoken to by
the boss is when something is wrong
• The company talks about good
customer service, but we know they
don’t really mean it, so we don’t really
have to worry about it
We can now gain an understanding of
the prevailing UGRs in an organization
(based on research that two Australian
universities funded) linked to those
aspects of the culture most important
for the company’s future success. Once
that’s done, we then work with leaders
and staff to introduce them to the
48 ModernBusiness
October 2016
UGRs concept, and to get their buy-in to
strategies to improve the culture.
motor vehicle companies, engineering
companies, and many, many more.
What was the driving force
behind your decision to
specialise in this area of
business?
I saw huge untapped potential in
organisations. So many people were
unhappy in their jobs – so many
customers were unhappy with the
service they received. And so many
leaders were frustrated with a lack of
initiative being displayed by their people.
This range of clients is because
workplace culture is vital in any context.
At the same time – there was ‘talk’
about improving the culture, but this was
being tackled in superficial ways if at all.
The ‘chatter’ in the corridors was often
critical of these programmes.
It was time to make culture simple and
accessible to everyone – so that people
could have a shared ownership of an
exciting, positive, productive culture.
What types of customers do you
help? What experience do you
have helping small business
customers?
Any organisation that is interested in
getting the best out of their people. I
tend to work with medium and larger
sized organisations, but my work has
application in any organisation – large
or small.
Do you service other sectors as
well?
I have worked with just about every
industry sector. This includes not-forprofits, the public sector (local state and
federal) and organisations as varied as
gold mining companies, law firms, retail,
What are the main reasons that
someone would choose you to
help grow/develop/improve their
business?
There are two main reasons. One is
because a company is experiencing
issues associated with having a less
than optimum culture – where there are
silos, there is a resistance to change,
people are not showing initiative and
so on.
The other reason I’m invited in is to help
a company sustain its positive culture.
While less in number, these companies
are concerned that their leadership in
the culture space places them at risk of
being complacent – hence I’m invited in.
What process, services and
support do your clients receive?
When we work with clients, we help them
crystallise their aspirational culture –
the culture that’s necessary to ensure
the company’s success and to make it
a great place to work (this may already
have been addressed through them
articulating their Values Statements).
We then identify the UGRs (ie the
cultural profile) linked to those attributes
identified in the aspirational culture.
The leadership team is introduced to the
UGRs concept – and how UGRs drive
people’s behaviours. Then the outcomes
from the cultural assessment are shared
and improvement strategies identified.