All it takes is a few people to destroy an entire corporate culture.

A few bad apples, as they say, can ruin everything.

Management does not even have to endorse the behavior either. They just have to be agnostic to it.

I have seen it. I mean, the second you allow sales and performance to supersede core values, everyone will know it.

The inaction speaks for itself. “Here at company X, we tolerate Y.”

And after that, all the rest seems like a slippery slope. Where do you draw the line?

If someone can get away with A, why not B too?

Culture fit, matters.

Unfortunate story:

His behavior had gone unreported. I asked a couple of the folks who told me about it why they’d never raised these events with their manager or with HR. Those replies were even more heartbreaking: “I didn’t think it would do anything,” and worse, “I figured everyone knew but didn’t care so long as his projects did well.” Hearing stuff like that was like a knife in my gut. This company I’d built, that I’d worked so hard to make into a place that cared about people and values, had clearly changed. It wasn’t because we’d hired dozens of vindictive or evil assholes. It was because letting even a few people (and this example I’m sharing sadly wasn’t alone) break our core values repeatedly without visible action from leadership led to the normalization of discordant behavior.

-Rand Fishkin, Lost And Founder

Everyone wants a high performer, I get it, but your next employee needs to have culture fit too.

A rock star salesman is great and all, but is it worth it if they are a jerk?

Is it worth it if they do not share your values? If they cause conflict? If they gossip?

Allowing people who are a bad fit to remain is a cocktail for unrest.

And showing everyone that money is more important than how you act and who you are, says a lot about you too.

I have seen this issue also popup in the high school sports world. 

Of course it would. Because nobody wants to give up their best player.

“Everyone needs to follow the rules X, Y, and Z. But – well – for the star of the basketball team, the rules are a little more malleable.”

As soon as you tolerate mediocrity, or unkindness, or whatever else, you and your brand are tarnished too. 

I don’t think there’s an easier or more tempting mistake to make than to hire someone who has great ability or a great track record of performance with the recognition that while they’re not a match with the current values and culture of the company, over time you believe you can bring them into alignment. I’ve made this same arrogant move multiple times over my career, and each time it ended in something between disappointment and disaster.

-Rand Fishkin, Lost And Founder