Should we try to maintain our company culture as we grow?

In short, no!

But how do we ensure that - whatever we hold so dear as a company - doesn't fade away? This question requires a somewhat longer answer. 

Let me explain through describing the challenge on a smaller scale. 

Behaviors

To start, we need to understand that company culture merely reflects the behaviors of our people. If the majority of your employees like chocolate and eat chocolate every Friday - you have a culture of "Friday chocolate eating". We need to acknowledge that your company culture changes as circumstances change or as your company growths.

Growing family

My wife and I just had a baby. He is very sweet, but we realize our family culture has changed completely. Where used to have a culture of sleeping in on weekends. Now we have a culture of getting out of bed at 7am - - every day!   Baby = new culture.

So, how keeps our family together? And, what keeps your company special as you grow?

The most important thing is that my wife and I hold similar values. We both like politics and social justice issues. We both need to stay creative. It is those shared values that will keep us together, even when our culture changes. And hopefully we will be able to instill some of those values on our little baby when he growths up. 

This is why it is so very important to write down your companies values.