Expand Your Mind: Culpable Culture
by Miki Saxon
It is useful to occasionally take the time to understand the origins and path of something that is truly shocking—or should be—and the role culture plays in it.
The worst first: San Bruno, California 2010 where a gas line in exploded killing eight people, destroying 38 homes and causing significant additional damage. According to employees, there was “…a pervasive corporate culture where employees were discouraged from reporting safety problems and feared retaliation if they did.“ If what employees say is true, and evidence is mounting that it is, management at PG&E should be thankful they aren’t in England where they would probably be charged with corporate manslaughter.
There is no penalty for maiming or killing careers and corporations. In fact, the guilty parties are often rewarded with copious amounts of cash, stock and other goodies. Such is the case of Jeff Kindler, ex CEO of Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, and Mary McLeod, his hand-picked head of HR. Together they trashed a powerful culture and brought Pfizer to its knees. Although Kindler was fired, his “exit package of $16 million in cash and stock, another $6.9 million in retirement benefits, and various other forms of stock compensation” makes you wonder what a hero would receive upon leaving. Fortune’s in-depth story is fascinating reading for workers and a powerful lesson for anyone in a management role, no matter the level.
Finally, an excellent analysis of the challenges faced and solutions used by Jamie Oliver when he found that he had to change a community’s culture before it would change its eating habits (documented on Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution) as applied to changing corporate culture.
Flickr image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedroelcarvalho/2812091311/
