#1
The Company We Keep
The title for what has become this newsletter series came to me at three in the morning on a night when I couldn't sleep. One of those nights when you lie awake carrying the weight of everything you're trying to understand.
I'd been circling the problem for months. Twenty years of client work, patterns I could see but couldn't name, a process that worked but resisted easy explanation. I knew what we did differently as a consultancy. I just couldn't say it in a way that made others see it.
And then it arrived: The Company We Keep
Two meanings at once. The ideal solution. Clever but not too clever. Just the way I like it. The people who choose you. The organization you take care of. The inseparability of those two ideas. The whole thing just began to write itself from that moment forward.
Naming is a funny thing. Sometimes you work at it for weeks and never find the answer. Sometimes it just arrives complete, and you know immediately that it's right. You don't need to test it or workshop it or run it past anyone. You just know.
The Company We Keep gave me the name for a framework we had been building at Cause+Affect. It connected the patterns into a system and clarified what we were actually doing differently all these years.
The People Who Choose You
The first meaning is obvious: company as in the people who surround you. Employees who carry your culture home. Customers who become advocates. Partners who mention you in conversations you'll never hear. These are the relationships that define you far more than any positioning statement ever could.
You cannot choose this company. They choose you. Your job isn't to convince them through clever messaging. Your job is to become the kind of organization that aligned people recognize and feel drawn toward. Then, it is simply about creating the opportunities for them to truly see who your organization really is.
This is the magnet at work. When your organizational identity is clear and authentic enough, the people who share your values find you naturally. They see themselves reflected in what you're building.
The Organization You Tend
But "company" means something else too: the organization itself. Your company in the business sense. And "keep" matters here. We're using it in the older sense of the word. A gardener keeps a garden. A shepherd keeps a flock. You keep your business by paying attention to its health, its growth and its relationship with the world.
Not ownership. Stewardship.
You don't own the relationships that form around your organization. You don't own your employees' belief or your customers' loyalty or your community's trust. These are given freely, and they can be withdrawn just as freely.
But you are responsible for creating the conditions where authentic connection can flourish. You are accountable for being worthy of the company that chooses you.
Why These Meanings Are Inseparable
Here's what twenty years of this work has taught us: you cannot cultivate your organization without cultivating the communities that surround it.
The company you keep (the people) defines the company you keep (the organization). And the company you keep (the organization) attracts the company you keep (the people).
When you tend your organizational identity with care, when you make decisions that align with stated values, when you show up consistently even when it's costly, the right people notice. They move closer. They choose to keep company with what you're building.
When you demand rather than steward, when you prioritize optics over integrity, when you drift from your stated purpose, people notice that too.
The company you keep tells the world who you are more clearly than any brand guideline ever could.
What This Means for Your Work
As this is the first of what will hopefully be many newsletters on this topic, I am going to propose some questions to consider:
Are you cultivating the company you want to keep, or are you just chasing whoever will pay attention?
Are you tending your organization with the care of a steward, or treating it like an asset to be exploited?
Are you showing people what matters most to you, or are you telling them?
These are diagnostic questions, and I would love to hear your answers. The company you currently keep is the direct result of how you've answered them with your actions.
What You Will Find Here
Who is this for? I am not sure exactly, but I think that folks who own or run organizations will find this relevant. I think those who work inside orgs and are trying to make things better, will also find some wisdom here. Hopefully, even those who have no interest in business culture at all, will find something, as I see a ton of overlap between the insights we provide to business owners and everyday guidance for self awareness.
Every two weeks, I'll share what we believe creates magnetic brands and cultivates the community that surround them. I will share the five types of ‘company’ you keep, our unique perspective on the many faces and personalities of the community you are hoping to build. We will discuss Champions who embody your values, Allies who execute on your purpose, Skeptics who demand proof, Critics who force you to be better, and Stewards who nurture the ecosystem.
Think of this as a reorientation. A different way of thinking about building organizational identity. One focused not on what you project, but on who matters most to you.
When you stop asking "How do we reach people?" and start asking "Who are we in relationship with?" everything changes. You stop broadcasting. You start listening. You stop selling. You start inviting.
In my next newsletter, we'll explore the first type of ‘company’ that forms around magnetic organizations: Champions. The people who don't just support your brand, but live it.
Until then, pay attention to the company you're keeping. They're showing you exactly who you are.
—Steven