Home Leadership Turn Archives Me RampUp Solutions  
 

  • Categories

  • Archives
 

Expand Your Mind: Broken Culture

by Miki Saxon

Dozens of articles and blog posts appear daily detailing the value of a good corporate culture, while others describe the difference between good and bad.

But, as the old saying goes, one picture is worth a thousand words and a real-time look at the effects of bad or dysfunctional cultures is a word picture you won’t soon forget—not those that are obvious, but the subtle ones.

Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype is all over the news, with very few good things being said. Why is that? Why are so many people so sure that it’s not a positive move?

“The big established groups [inside Microsoft] are allowed to prey upon emerging teams, belittle their efforts, compete unfairly against them for resources, and over time hector them out of existence.” –Ex-Microsoft executive Dick Brass

Another story in the news is that of the I.M.F. managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. One item that stands out in interviews with various people is the sense that his alleged actions are nothing new; and that the ethical structure of the I.M.F. culture is severely split between the executives and the rest.

“There are a lot of controls in place when it comes to the staff, but not for the leadership.” –Katrina Campbell, a compliance and ethics expert at Global Compliance.

Finally, we have the continuing dance between the short-term culture of Wall Street and too many public corporation CEOs who say what Wall Street wants to hear and then expect their operating managers to find a way to make it happen no matter the consequences.

If more CEOs were publicly forthright about their businesses, what factors slowed growth and the time required to get growth back on track, they’d create that reprieve and start building long term value. Instead, CEOs demand their teams do whatever it takes to make the quarter, setting in motion changes that make future growth that much harder to achieve.

Three examples of the damage bad culture can do.

What others can you add?

Image credit:  MykReeve on flickr

Leave a Reply

RSS2 Subscribe to
MAPping Company Success

Enter your Email
Powered by FeedBlitz
About Miki View Miki Saxon's profile on LinkedIn

Clarify your exec summary, website, etc.

Have a quick question or just want to chat? Feel free to write or call me at 360.335.8054

The 12 Ingredients of a Fillable Req

CheatSheet for InterviewERS

CheatSheet for InterviewEEs

Give your mind a rest. Here are 4 quick ways to get rid of kinks, break a logjam or juice your creativity!

Creative mousing

Bubblewrap!

Animal innovation

Brain teaser

The latest disaster is here at home; donate to the East Coast recovery efforts now!

Text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation or call 00.733.2767. $10 really really does make a difference and you'll never miss it.

And always donate what you can whenever you can

The following accept cash and in-kind donations: Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, Red Cross, World Food Program, Save the Children

*/ ?>

About Miki

About KG

Clarify your exec summary, website, marketing collateral, etc.

Have a question or just want to chat @ no cost? Feel free to write 

Download useful assistance now.

Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.

Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
while $10 a month has exponential power.
Always donate what you can whenever you can.

The following accept cash and in-kind donations:

Web site development: NTR Lab
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.5 License.