Corporate Culture Drives Success
by Miki SaxonA lot has changed since I started RampUp Solutions a decade ago. Back then, getting a CEO to discuss corporate culture ranged from difficult to impossible in direct proportion to the size of the company.
Bosses often viewed culture as an abstract concept, a creation of consultants to increase billable hours, but not something that would/could impact on the bottom line.
But that was then, this is now.
“82 per cent of [Canadian] executives surveyed said culture has a strong, or very strong, impact on their company’s performance.”
Meanwhile, in the lower 48, from a new study on innovation, “Corporate culture is, above all, the most important factor in driving innovation,” said Rajesh Chandy, a professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and a charter member of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Advisory Committee on Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy”
Innovation and healthy bottom lines go hand in hand. While innovation may not be the quick bottom line fix that layoffs and other cost cutting actions are, it is the preferred choice of CEOs who understand that surviving isn’t enough.
What weight do other factors have in driving innovation?
“…among traditional drivers of innovation such as government policy, labor, capital and culture at the country level, the strongest driver of radical innovation across nations is corporate culture.”
Chandy goes on to say, “It is important to realize that all innovative companies look alike. They share a common culture no matter where they are located.”
Nearly three years ago I wrote about what people want and don’t want and it hasn’t changed much, if at all.
There are many cultural traits to consider, but here are the four basics that are required, although the words used to describe them keep changing, if you want to foster a culture of innovation.
- Open, honest, constant communications
- Never kill the messenger
- Accept and act on input from all levels
- Walk your talk
And the next time someone tells you that corporate culture is a myth composed of smoke and mirrors, remind them that there are still people out there who believe the Earth is flat.
Click for a direct download of “Radical Innovation in Firms Across Nations: The Pre-eminence of Corporate Culture.”
Image credit: flickr
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