Cultures exist in all firms, but not all directors are aware of their presence, or of their far-reaching effects on those outside

I went to interview someone at Google UK last week. The culture was almost dripping off the walls. Everyone was so young, cool and self-consciously "hard at work but enjoying it". The building was highly designed and oozed technology. Frankly, it wasn't me. I felt old, staid, over-dressed and technophobic. But I wasn't there for a job interview—I would never have made it that far. Google's recruitment process is designed to select people in its own image, and likely candidates are given the once over by their prospective peers in order to assess their "Google fit".

Two days later I went to First Direct where, similarly, the culture was so tangible you could have cut it with a knife. But it felt more natural than Google, less studied. The casual clothes and helpfulness of everyone from the security man on the gate to the chief executive sitting among his 2,500 staff in the vast, yet strangely intimate aircraft hangar of a place, seemed very genuine.

By contrast, a friend of mine recently had a job interview at what we had always thought of as an illustrious and admirable organisation. She had lots of relevant experience, prepared thoroughly and went along fired with enthusiasm. She came away feeling diminished and demoralised. The interview panel were unwelcoming, unfriendly and blatantly uninterested in what she had to say, and exuded an arrogance and disdain that have completely transformed our perception of the organisation.

Companies like Google and First Direct understand very well that a strong positive culture can help them win, engage and motivate the kind of people who drive their continuing success. But you wonder if organisations like the one my friend encountered realise how they come across. And if they do, do they care?

Some companies' caustic cultures are carefully cultivated, of course. I used to deal with a business run by lipsticked Rottweilers. Not pleasant. We've all met such organisations. They clearly think bullying is the way to get results, but seem to forget that a supplier, for example, might also be a customer, a shareholder, an opinion former, a member of the community, a potential employee, and so on. They can't just turn on the charm for the people they think matter because, these days, any one individual is likely to represent a number of different stakeholder groups.

But most corporate cultures are unconscious. It's a bit like not realising you have an accent unless someone points it out. Your culture, like the way you speak, feels normal, natural, neutral. But a business has to understand the effect its behaviour has on others, and the top team needs to understand the critical role they play in setting, reinforcing and reflecting the culture. Culture is like reputation—you have one whether or not you are aware of it or cultivate it—and a poor culture, like a poor reputation, is damaging.

The most successful cultures are visceral. For example, First Direct's culture is rooted in the management, reward and communication practices that were designed to create the exemplary customer service that would be critical to the success of the first telephone bank. It's a reputation its parent HSBC would kill for, but is wise enough to understand that it can't just overlay it on its own deep-rooted traditional banking culture.

But good cultures are also flexible. Marks & Spencer's used to be so strong it became fossilised, preventing the company from developing and adapting to its market. Could Google be heading for a similar pitfall? The best companies allow employees significant freedom to be themselves within the constraints of the culture. But the culture at Google feels almost cultish.

As the company moves into new areas, such as display advertising and online content, raising concerns about anti-competitiveness and data privacy in the process, it could find that its values of earnestness and fun no longer serve it quite so well.

Trying to identify and articulate a company's culture might feel like nailing jelly to a wall. But a company that doesn't allow its culture to adapt to changing circumstances could find it turning into a straitjacket.

Jane Simms is the former editor of Financial Director and Marketing Business.