Well, the culture of a company comes from the top. It is the deliberate actions and the unconscious behavior of the CEO and senior executives that reinforce or kill a company culture traits. When a partner executive wants to talk to the OutSystems CEO they are looking to understand the core values of the CEO. Those core values will, they know, sooner or later be reflected in the way the partnership will be dealt with.

I recently had another confirmation of this rule. Jerónimo Martins, one of the largest retail conglomerates with headquarters in Portugal, is an OutSystems customer. We, at OutSystems, have always experienced a great relationship with the IT and Business teams at JM. They are tough like all retailers but they are also pragmatic, fair and innovative. We can feel the empowerment that mid managers and junior executives have. The company just exhibits a good vibe.

And then I had the privilege of spending an informal lunch with the President of the group, Alexandre Soares dos Santos. A great man. He spent his time talking about his people, his coaching methods. For one hour we talked about human management, empowerment and pride. And I was amazed again on how much the core values of the ones who manage are reflected in companies of thousands of employees. JM has 41,000 employees.

So now you know. Want to know how you will be treated by a company? Talk with the top man.