Inspiring Workplaces 
The Way Work Ought to Be!

#1,051 - Dec.11, 2024

What shorthand sayings or "isms" might help you define or strengthen your culture? 

The software company Quicken is known for their "Quicken-isms" - catchy sayings that define their cultural norms in a shorthand way. 

Here are a few of their Quicken-isms: 

• Simplicity is genius.
• Innovation is rewarded. Execution is worshiped. 
• It's not about WHO is right, it's about WHAT is right.
• You have to take the roast out of the oven. 
• The inches we need are everywhere around us.

The meaning of some of these are obvious, but some need a bit of explaining. For example, "You have to take the roast out of the oven" means that at some point you have to stop planning and start doing! (Or, you know, the roast is toast, and no one is happy!)  

A fun twist on this idea is to hold a contest to encourage employees to generate their own "isms" they feel could and should guide your culture. You might already have a few characters at work who are known for their quirky catchphrases that you could turn into company-wide mantras.  

One company has done this very successfully, where the employee who coins a certain "ism" gets credit whenever their ism is referenced: 

"Never dunk your doughnut in someone else's coffee."  Pat  

Pat, in this particular case, was famous for using this expression which, in non-doughnut speak, means, "Tend to your own business before mucking around in someone else's!"