In 1788, Edward Gibbon set forth in his famous multi-volume work, “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” his ideas about why that great civilization withered and died. Surprisingly, it involves moral decay, both societal and individual, just as much as it does political dysfunction.

While most of us have little control over the global situation, we do have some control over our personal lives, starting at home and moving on to the workplace. Studies have consistently shown that salary is not the most important factor when considering where one works -- it’s corporate culture.

Maybe this is why corporate culture is one of the hottest topics in business today. People want to work for businesses that focus on terrific employee culture.

What is corporate culture?

Corporate culture is what we call the pervasive values, beliefs and attitudes that characterize a company and guide its practices. To some extent, a company's internal culture may be articulated in its mission or vision statements. Elements of corporate culture include a company's physical environment, human resources practices and the staff itself. Corporate culture is also reflected in the degree of emphasis placed on various defining elements such as hierarchy, process, innovation, collaboration, competition, community involvement and social engagement.

It’s no surprise that Fortune’s Best Companies happen to be many of the same companies listed as the best places to work. Companies that are concentrating on culture are seeing the biggest payoffs because they are putting their employees first.

I’ve always said if you take care of your people, they will take care of your customers. And your company will thrive.

According to an article in Forbes magazine, traditional companies like Aetna are now heavily focused on culture. Last year, The New York Times published an article about Aetna's CEO, Mark Bertolini. He has raised wages, improved health benefits and introduced yoga and mindfulness training to his entire company to improve staff retention and culture in the call centers. Their $100 million-plus employee turnover problem is rapidly going away, and he claims to have already improved the bottom line by 3 to 4 percent.

Corporate culture is consistently listed as an important factor in retaining employees at every level, but perhaps most significantly, the millennial generation. In a nutshell, while making money is important, the potential to make a life that matters is even more important. In other words, no one wants to check their personal values at the company door.

Do you know your organization’s culture? Management expert Richard Hagberg on www.leader-values.com asks the question and says that many managers, particularly senior managers and the CEO, often base their views on hope rather than objective fact.

In order to ground your assessment of your workplace culture in reality, he suggests you ask these questions:

-- What 10 words would you use to describe your company?

-- Around here what’s really important?

-- Around here who gets promoted?

-- Around here what behaviors get rewarded?

-- Around here who fits in and who doesn’t?

Hagberg says the reality is that whatever management pays attention to and rewards are pretty strong indicators of the culture. Do you profess to care about quality, but is your real mentality more about “getting it out the door”? Brutally honest inquiry should be a first step to gather insight as to what your workplace culture truly is. Sometimes it’s nowhere close to what management set out to create.

Strong leadership is central to engendering a positive cultural environment. If you are in charge of a team that is not functioning properly, it’s probably your fault. You need to take a good hard look at yourself and take responsibility for the situation so that you can repair it.

Corporate culture extends far beyond employees. Your customers, vendors and competitors are watching too. Who wants to do business with an organization that can’t be trusted or respected? I’ll tell you who -- no one. Your public face reflects your internal face. The mirror doesn’t lie.

Mackay’s Moral: Your corporate culture is like a petri dish -- make sure only the good stuff grows.

Everyone is in sales. To me, job titles don’t matter; every employee must think about sales. It’s the only way any company can stay in business.

There are no jobs if you don’t bring the business through the front door. That’s why I have a sign on my office door that reads: “If you know where you can get us some business, come on in.”

At our company, a sales mindset is a requirement. From the factory floor to the reception desk to the boardroom, figuring out what the customer wants and finding a way to deliver it must be at the forefront of every job. Whether you are selling a product, services or a corporate image, you are in sales.

A while back, I received an email from a loyal reader who used to be in sales, but switched to information technology as a help desk technician. Even though he was now on the side of delivering service rather than sales, he understands the personalized approach with customers, be it computer operators, network administrators or engineers.

He wrote: “When it comes to identifying and resolving technical issues, it's important to remember the human side of technology. I only have the phone to work with, but quite often those little or long pauses while waiting for a procedure to cycle through or a test result to return can be used to build rapport, ease tension or otherwise get to know the other person(s) on the line.

“The important thing to keep in mind here in taking advantage of these opportunities is that these people talk to the people who ultimately buy the company's services. If the service they receive at any point along the line is poor, or if the vendors' techs are impersonal or worse, abrasive or condescending, the salesperson talking with the decision maker is going to have a rough time of it when it comes to renewing the contract.”

So, you can see how having a sales mindset -- no matter what role in the company -- can have an impact on sales.

From the moment we get up in the morning to the time we go to bed, we are negotiating, communicating, persuading and influencing. If we aren’t selling products or services, we are selling ideas.

If you want to be successful in sales, remember the four Ws and the H.

-- WHO? Know your customers. Get into the mind of your buyer -- what does he or she really want? What do they really need? Sometimes, those two options are not the same, so be prepared to guide him or her to the best solution for the situation.

-- WHAT? Target a clear outcome. Before approaching a customer, be certain of what you want to achieve. In some cases, you may not be seeking an immediate sale, but more information about what the customer wants. Walk in with a clear plan and backup options, so you aren’t wasting their time or yours.

-- WHY? Listen to people. Successful selling isn’t about talking to customers, but listening to their needs so you can find out how your product or service can help. Asking questions is critical, as is paying attention to the other person’s problems before offering your solution.

-- WHEN? Get to the point quickly. Once you determine that you have what the customer needs, resist the urge to launch into a lengthy lecture about what you have to offer. Pick one or two of the customer’s most important needs and briefly demonstrate how you can help. Customers buy on their schedule, not yours. Contact them frequently (without getting annoying) so they learn to think of you when they have a problem you can help them solve.

-- HOW? Solve customers’ problems. Address their needs, large and small, and show how you can help them. And here’s some advice that some might consider heresy: If you can’t help them, refer them to someone who can. There will be times when your product or service isn’t the best fit, and your customer will appreciate your willingness to put their needs first.

Don’t forget to measure your results. Keep track of successes and failures. Analyze what helped you succeed and where you may have slipped up. Identify some best practices that have led to success, and incorporate them into every customer interaction. Keeping track of your record can help you stay motivated and productive during dry spells and reinvigorate you when you’re doing well.

Mackay’s Moral: Selling isn’t rocket science -- it’s people science.

Super Bowl LI has to be one of the greatest contests ever: What a comeback!

For me, it brought back an incredible memory, when I had the pleasure of interviewing Bill Belichick, Super Bowl-winning coach of the New England Patriots, for my book “We Got Fired! ... And It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us.”

Belichick was fired by the Cleveland Browns in 1996 and spent one season as the defensive backs coach with the Patriots. He was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets from 1997-99 before becoming the Patriots’ head coach in 2000. He is the only head coach to win five Super Bowls.

Analytical as always, Bill acknowledged that his coaching style had changed over the years, especially in the transition from being coach at Cleveland to ultimately becoming the head coach at New England.

“I’m a detail-oriented person. I’ve delegated more with the Patriots than I did with the Browns. At times, I may have been too detail-oriented in Cleveland. Perhaps I should have put my time and energy into some bigger-picture things.”

NFL coaching is a supreme balancing act. Coaches want to hang on to their job, but they also have to do what’s right for their team. It’s like the choice between security and opportunity. If they only choose security, they lose both.

A professional football coach’s job is often compared with that of a business manager. In fact, a football coach must act faster and in more drastic ways than most white-collar workers.

“I have never run a corporation ... In business, you can make 18 percent and I can make 17 percent and the next guy can make 16 percent -- we’re all pretty happy. At the end of the day in athletic competition, one team wins and the other team loses. You both can’t be happy.”

Bill recovered so steadily from his setback in Cleveland, I’m convinced, partly because of the tremendous depth of his personal background. First, his father was a fullback for the Detroit Lions and coached at the Naval Academy for more than 30 years. Bill was able to observe some great coaches during this time. Talk about leveraging a network of information!

"In the NFL, I was with five different coaches my first five years," Bill remembers. "That’s not only five coaches, that’s five staffs. Because I saw so many successful styles, I became confident that there wasn’t just one style. I didn’t try to be Vince Lombardi or Tom Landry. I tried to be Bill Belichick.”

Finally, I asked Bill if he had three pieces of advice for young people. They have all the zing of a two-minute drill that will march you over the goal line.

“We all make a lot of mistakes as we go through life. (1) Don’t make the big ones. Take care of yourself and your own personal health. It can all end in a second with one stupid decision, and we’ve seen that happen too many times. (2) It’s not what you know, it’s whom you know. You build your relationships from your childhood through your adolescent years. You control your relationships. (3) It’s the self-starter in each of us that is really important. I don’t think you can count on somebody else to motivate you to do something. You have to want to do it personally, and you have to provide that energy. So, you better pick out something you really like to do, because you will have to be your own driving force.”

Mackay’s Moral: Learning to be a great coach is the most demanding spectator sport in the world.