Creating Your Family Culture - Part 2

By Theron Glenny

Inside (& outside) the Tyrone Armory, you truly get the sense the building is immovable. The castle-like structure was constructed in the early 1900s with large stones that provide a strong foundation to hold large steel beams that you can see visually from the inside. Every time I give someone a tour of the Armory, they typically make the statement, ‘Wow! They sure don’t make them like this anymore’. They are referring to the strength and robustness of the steel beams. They are truly impressive! And, if you haven’t seen them, you should stop by and take a look.

Inside of the Armory. Notice the stone walls and steel beams.

The reason why the steel beams can exist is because of the strength of the Armory’s foundation - the stone walls. The foundation is steady, strong and dependable. In our last article, I wrote about creating your family culture. Just like the construction of the Armory’s walls, culture doesn’t happen overnight. It takes significant time, effort and focus to build something strong enough to hold the weight of your family’s purpose. Culture is an environment that is formed from the collective actions (& behaviors) of a family over time.

This article should help you build your family’s culture so your family grows healthy and accomplishes everything God designed it to. Culture is an environment you create that will build identity and character, but begins with a set of values. Values are like the stones in the Armory’s walls. They provide a foundation that shapes your character and reflects your culture. Values are designed to influence your decisions, behaviors and actions. Think about it, all great companies and sports teams built a culture that shaped the character of the team because of the values it lived by. When a team embraces the core values it defines, it begins to build momentum to accomplish its mission.

Here are some examples of values:

Take responsibility for our actions
Love each other unconditionally
Forgive each other quickly
Be un-offendable (one of my favorites!)
Be humble and operate with an underdog mentality
Be honest with each other even when it’s tough
Serve others with joy
Work with excellence, for it honors God and inspires people

Do you see how these values can powerfully influence your daily home and work environment?

They are like the bumper lanes at the bowling alley. They keep you in the right lane so you accomplish your goal, which is striking the pins. Without shared values like the ones above, it’s impossible to stay in the lane with others in your family or on your team. Culture is strongest when shared values are defined, agreed upon and lived out.

If you haven’t defined your family values, please take time to do so. They’ll unify your family and set you on a course to create a powerful family culture that can last generations.

Note: I listed a lot of examples above, but you do not have to have a ton of core values. Actually, the more you have the harder it is to fully embrace them because a larger list of ten or more values prohibits your family members from actually remembering them. Four to six is a healthy amount of values.