If Jesus had any pet peeves, I would probably say that it would have to be his dissatisfaction with the routine religious practices of the Jewish people (particularly the leaders). As a result, much of His message while He walked the earth was about change. Jesus was on a mission to change the culture.

Often in our workplaces and other organizations, we also need to change the culture if we want to see any significant growth. This is exactly what Matt Hudson's book Culturific! is all about. Recently, I got to pick his brain a little bit on this topic, and would like to share the results of that interview here...

mbg: Tell me a little bit about your background and your family.

Hudson: Born and reared in Indiana, today I live in Fort Worth, Texas. I have been in retail for over 26 years. I am still in retail as an owner of a footwear retail business called Big Feet Store. I am the principle and Creative Sensei of Penumbra Group and Penumbra Media and Design. We are a boutique consulting firm focused on corporate culture and people development. Our core strengths are around Emotional Intelligence and Interviewing. We are a highly creative firm with a strong media competency. For example, I have produced, directed and/or written over 175 videos including the award-winning Investigating EQ DVD. I love speaking and get the chance at companies and conferences around the country.

mbg: What are the major themes of the book?

Hudson: Corporate Culture. Specifically developing a service-oriented culture. An organization’s corporate culture is a living, breathing entity. It is your most valuable asset and your most neglected. It is the reason most companies fail after the founder leaves and why most companies collapse when the market around them changes and they cannot adapt or evolve.

mbg: You talk about the "unvisible" aspects of culture as being values and beliefs. What advice do you have for someone with a Christian worldview who is trying to implement their values and beliefs in the workplace?

Hudson: First of all, as a Christian myself, I have struggled in the corporate environment with this very issue. At one stop in my career, I was the COO of a retail organization that was owned and founded by a Jewish family. What worked for me there was to never couch the values as “Christian”, but rather moral or ethical. This is true in all organizations. If people feel like you are trying to bring “religion” into the workplace, they will reject it. It’s not the principles they reject too, it is the inference that it is Christian. Just last week I was speaking to a Health System that has 17 hospitals in the group. They asked me a similar question. They are a Catholic institution and they wanted to know how to infuse the Catholic values into their organization. I gave them the same advice. Don’t position the values as Catholic, but rather corporate. This is the real secret. Jesus was in the world but not of the world. I think this is a great reference for this issue.

mbg: In your roadmap for culture change you point out that people should, "borrow from the best, but use your own for the rest." What would you consider to be some of the best things that Jesus taught us that we could start with when working on a culture change?

Hudson: Well, ultimately, I believe that all truth is God’s truth. So anything a company creates today is because of His sovereignty. But I think you are asking what examples of Christ’s life can we borrow from since he was the best. Simply this. Be in the world, but not of the world. Too often companies and organizations claim that people are their most important asset, but their culture does not live that out. Too often integrity is listed as a core value of a company, but the company drains the pension or 401k of the employees. Too often Christian men and women fall prey to a corporate culture that leads them away from their relationship with Christ because it values deception, gossiping and competition. As Christians, we have to learn to be in the company, but not of the company.

I think the other point I would make here is that in the book I talk about the power of storytelling through folklore. While this is a powerful tool for communicating, it is patterned after Jesus’ example. Throughout his time on earth, his teachings were based on stories or parables. If we take nothing else from Him, the way he communicated to people in stories is the most powerful way to engage the people in your organization. This is also an example of above. Because truly, I am teaching people to use folklore as part of their culture initiative, but I am not telling them why I believe this from scripture. My references come from the corporate world. This helps people accept it and I still get to weave my Christian view into my work.

mbg: Besides Jesus, who in the Bible do you admire the most for being an agent of culture change, and why?

Hudson: By far, Paul. Not because of the dramatic conversion of him as a person, but rather the significance of his impact throughout history. During his life, he was shaping the culture of the Christian church to be based on salvation and grace rather than the law. This was a dramatic departure from the Old Testament belief and values system. Imagine spending your whole life in a church that taught you were saved by the law and then suddenly being taught that you are saved by grace and through Jesus Christ alone? Even today, churches all over the world teach from the scriptures who penned in regards to how church should be lived out. Not only did he have an impact back then, but we still reference it today.

mbg: Why do you think it’s important to talk about creating culture?

Hudson: As I stated earlier, corporate culture is a living, breathing entity of your company or organization. It exists whether you acknowledge it or not. Ultimately, your corporate culture’s values are the culmination of the individual values of the people who work for your organization. This is why I firmly believe that you hire people who fit your culture and let technical expertise and experience take a back seat. My favorite line from any book (not called the Bible) is the opening line to Jim Collins' Good to Great. ‘Good is the enemy of great.’ The only way to actualize and do anything with this statement in your organization is through the care and nurture of your corporate culture.

mbg: What has God been teaching you lately?

Hudson: This year has been a focus on Christian beliefs. As I go through studies at our church, I realize how I never challenged some of the beliefs I was taught growing up in church. It’s good to challenge. It’s good to “loose and bind” core biblical principles. Hopefully, it will help me move to a new level in my personal relationship with Christ.

This book is a great handbook for anyone who desires to change their environment. I also believe that as Christians, we have a responsibility to bring about positive change in our environments. I have enjoyed reading through this book, and have already identified a few things that I am going to start working on right away!

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