By: Shawna Wright

Dr. Clotaire Rapaille is an internationally revered cultural anthropologist and marketing expert who has spent decades studying cultures, observing consumer behavior and advising companies in their marketing efforts. His book, The Culture Code, reveals his groundbreaking insights on how people act and interact with businesses and each other. Dr. Rapaille is the chairman of Archetype Discoveries Worldwide and is the personal advisor of ten high-ranking CEOs. Fifty Fortune 100 companies keep him on retainer.

Rapaille’s “Culture Code” is the unconscious meaning we apply to any given thing via the culture in which we were raised. Each culture has a different interpretation for the same word. All these codes create a reference system that people unconsciously use. “The Culture Code” offers an understanding of why people really do things. To be “on Code” is to tap into the unconscious meaning behind the word. Being “off Code” may logically make sense, but it runs contrary to the primal understanding.

Rapaille claims that the American code for money is “proof”. He states that money isn’t a goal in and of itself for most Americans. “We rely on it to show us that we are good, that we have true value in the world…we can prove what we’ve accomplished only by making as much money as possible.” We collectively view money as a scorecard of sorts, and many find it difficult to feel successful if they believe they are underpaid.

It would be “off Code,” then, to just preach profitability to employees. The bottom line should be more than dollar amounts or sales percentage. Money is proof of the quality of our work and our quality as people. It is not the goal. Instead, a company’s management must inspire employees to be the best they can possibly be and to make the company as strong as it can be. Done correctly, this will lead to profitability.

Rapaille states that money alone is the worst reward for an American employee as it doesn’t last and is never sufficient. It is, however, a critical component of the reward system. He goes on to say that the most “on-Code” approach is to use money as a positioning system that shows the employee where they are on their career path. He recommends offering a visual representation of the income curve they are on with every promotion. That growth curve is visible proof of their increasing worth. Rapaille also says that a tangible award of some sort (a plaque, new office accessory or even a new office) gives the employee “a tactical experience of his enhanced sense of who he is…These tangible symbols last much longer than money, though they admittedly mean very little without it.”