An inclusive culture needs to be planned from the beginning.

It’s my belief that no matter how long people are at work, almost everyone wants to feel part of something greater than themselves and that they belong. They want to know their work makes a difference to the organization, no matter what they do. Even if they don’t like what they do, if they love the culture in the organization, feel connected and appreciated for their talent they will want to stay and advance to a position they like.

We all have that need, and thrive when we are part of a community. When we are part of a community we feel like our work counts, that people in the organization care whether we show up, and that our opinions and ideas are respected and heard. While many leaders talk about how inclusive their culture is, we know that it takes more than talk or a one-time event. It takes a culture that was planned with purpose.

Zingerman’s Community of Businesses is that kind of organization, and Ari Weinzweig and other members of Zingerman’s create that community  culture of belonging every day for themselves and their customers.

Ari Weinzweig and his friend Paul Saginaw started Zingerman’s in 1982 in Michigan. What began as a Jewish deli with a handful of people has become Zingerman’s Community of Businesses and includes a creamery, bakery, a restaurant, a farm and a mail-order company and more. They employ over 700 people with almost no turnover. Zingerman’s has consistently been known as a great place to work from inception to growth.  People love the culture so much, they don’t want to leave, and they grow with the company. There is a sense of ownership and identity.

In today’s start-up culture so many organizations begin as small tight knit cultures and then end up in chaos, dissension and high turnover as they bring on new people. That is not true of Zingerman’s which continues be even more inclusive.

I had a recent opportunity to talk to Ari Weinzweig about the Zingerman’s culture and how it came to be.

Weinzweig and Saginaw had a vision from the beginning of the type of organizational environment they wanted to create, and the way they wanted people to feel and be able to contribute.

Without a vision that goes beyond profit, organizations become reactionary, and have a hard time increasing innovation, and recruiting great people with vision.

“There are only two ways to build an organizational culture either with consideration and conscious intent; or, by contrast, to let the culture come together as it does, giving it little thought in the process,” says Weinzweig.

 When the culture just comes together it’s known as  a default culture. Employees have no real structure that helps them make creative decisions, no formal process that allows them to serve customers in new ways and are more insecure about their jobs.

It’s never too early, and it’s not too late to think about the culture you want in your organization, develop and share your vision and engage everyone in the execution. Help your employees feel like they belong to something greater than themselves and you’ll be amazed at what they create.