Why SME Culture Fails in the First 90 Days and How to Make It Stick Permanently

Many SMEs invest significant time, budget, and effort into building their company culture, only to see the enthusiasm fade within a few weeks. This is because culture is not a slogan, not a workshop, and not a poster on the wall. Culture is the organization’s true operating system. It dictates how people behave, make decisions, and deliver results. 

When this system fails, everything else eventually fails. And the reason most SME culture initiatives collapse within the first 90 days is that the organization remains stuck in a state known as Enforced Compliance Culture. 

Warning Signs: The Culture of Fear (Enforced Compliance) 

When leaders rely too heavily on rules, monitoring, and command-and-control tactics, employees behave correctly only when someone is watching. Once supervision is removed, old patterns reappear. Not because employees resist change, but because they do not feel ownership. 

Three Alarming Indicators That Your Culture Is Failing 

1. The “Yes, but…” Syndrome  Employees appear to agree in meetings, but revert to old habits immediately afterward. 

2. The Dangerous Silence  Small issues go unspoken until they escalate into major crises. 

3. The Blame Game  Minor mistakes receive harsh punishment, while positive behaviors go unnoticed. 

These are not people problems. They are system problems. 

The Three-Step Framework to Build a Culture That Lasts 

To escape Enforced Compliance and move into a high-performance Tribal Culture, leaders must shift from commanding to collaborating. 

1. Sponsor – Leaders as Role Models 

Culture begins with behavior, not instructions. Leaders must demonstrate the desired behaviors consistently before expecting anyone else to follow. 

2. Signal – Reinforce the Right Behaviors Clearly and Repeatedly 

Define three to five signature behaviors that reflect your culture. Reinforce them regularly through recognition, storytelling, and daily decision-making. 

3. Scale – Empower Teams to Own the Culture 

Culture becomes sustainable when teams say, “This is how we do things here,” rather than, “This is what the boss told us to do.” 

Ownership breeds permanence. 

Our Way: The Compass of Growth 

We believe that meaningful progress is created through deliberate action, and that every individual is a key driver of success. Our Way is built upon three core pillars: 

1. Take Full Ownership  We hold ourselves accountable for decisions and outcomes as if the business were our own. We avoid blame, take responsibility, and drive issues to full resolution. 

2. Dare to Learn and Innovate  We embrace experimentation. Failure is treated as necessary learning fuel for innovation, and continuous improvement is a shared expectation. 

3. Drive Real Impact  Every action must create clear, measurable value for customers, the business, and the teams we work with. 

When everyone practices these principles, we operate not as followers, but as leaders—together. This is how sustainable, scalable success is built. 

If You Are Ready to Build a Culture That Truly Lasts 

T ransforming culture is not about launching another training program. It is about designing the right system, reinforcing the right behaviors, and enabling people to take ownership at every level. 

If your organization is ready to move from fragile culture to a high-trust, high-performance environment, our team can guide you through the process. We help SMEs build culture systems that are practical, scalable, and deeply embedded into everyday operations. 

Contact us to begin shaping a culture that lasts.