An interesting interview with Ed Schein, a senior professor at MIT and a “pioneer” on the subject of corporate culture, who now believes corporate culture is irrelevant.
The real answer to that is that Corporate Culture is no longer the relevant topic. I think the relevant topic is macro culture, nations, corporations, corporate culture (where all these nationalities and occupations play out), and micro cultures where you have problems in the operating room and in teamwork because you have multi-nationals, people from different occupations that cultures, all interplaying.
OK, I don’t have a PhD and I’m not a brilliant, recognized expert with an international reputation, but my initial reaction to reading the transcript of the interview was ’duh’.
Of course corporate culture is impacted by having multiple nationalities working together, but it was impacted when the workforce were all native-born, but from different regions or even neighborhoods.
As to the micro cultures created by each boss (leader in the accepted jargon), again my reaction is ‘duh.’
Every person is shaped by their MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™), AKA, values. Every manager (from team leader to department vp) creates a culture in their organization that is based on those values and it can be similar, synergistic or diametrically opposed to the cultures above.
All that said, I think it’s great when recognized experts put shape and definition to the things that most workers know by instinct and they do it with a level of credibility far beyond the reach of someone like me.
Here is the interview or you can read the transcript at the link above.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve been asked these questions or read an article about them I could retire on a private island. Seriously.
Because I’m still being asked I thought I would offer a KISS (keep it simple, stupid) style answer, one that is easy to understand, easy to remember and (relatively) easy to influence.
Culture originates with the boss and affects everyone below that level.
It’s your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™), i.e., what’s in your head, your values, beliefs and how you implement them, that defines the culture of your organization, whether an entire company or a small team.
Culture spreads through communication.
Another MAP function; the way you communicate is a mindset, grounded in your attitude towards others, which, in turn, is based on your personal philosophy.
Make no mistake, culture always flows down—even when radical ideas take root that rise up from the workers.
Call it a “percolation culture” and it only happens when the culture already in place enables ideas to rise and doesn’t kill the messenger if they don’t fly.
In short, if you want to know your culture look deeply into a mirror and listen to all your communications, whether word or action.
And if you feel the need to change your culture use RampUp’s tagline as your mantra: to change what they do change how you think.
With News Corp’s culture making headlines around the world (and links to plentiful to choose) I was reminded of something I read recently about a new ethics compliance study (free registration required).
The new outlook has permeated the boardroom. In fact, only 22% of ethics and compliance leaders worry about senior management’s ability and desire to demonstrate and promote ethical conduct. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents stated that promoting an ethical culture creates long-term value for the business.
In fact, 45% of respondents are concerned that middle managers are not as invested in ethics initiatives as their superiors.
Think about this; senior management is ethical, but the guys in the middle area are the problem.
Funny, in almost all the ethics cases over the last few decades it’s been senior management that was the driving force and found to be at fault.
Most people respond to the tone and example set by their leaders.
But too often the goals and the pressure to achieve them reflect an unwritten message from senior executives—use whatever means necessary, just get it done.
I’ve never seen any statistics, but I’ll bet that if middle managers are guilty of anything it’s going too far to produce the results demanded of them by their bosses who are, in turn, responding to Wall Street.
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read allIf the Shoe Fits posts here
Research has shown that culture trumps strategy and the most important component of culture is people.
Without people there is no company.
With the wrong people there is no team.
It is the team that makes your vision a reality.
It is the team that draws investment.
It is the team that lets you pivot when necessary.
It is the team that saves your ass when you screw up.
Your team is made up of the people who focus on the success of the company, knowing that its success ensures their own, not the people who work primarily for their own success.
A strong team always trumps a group of individual players—no matter how good.
To ensure you have a team and not a group you need a rock-solid hiring and compensation (salary and stock) philosophy, method and process, because the needs of the team trumps any individual’s credentials, experience, previous title and company.
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Do you lie? Do your colleagues, bosses, friends, family lie? Before you hotly say an emphatic NO, storm off in a huff or write a snarky comment read Geoffrey James thoughtful take on how/why everybody lies.
The lies to which James refers are the lies that move and smooth human interaction and move things forward, but, as we all know, there are many other lies that aren’t benign. Why? Why do so many find it necessary to lie, especially at work?
As dozens of studies have proved, corporate culture is the best way to ensure that there’s no reason for the ‘real’ lies and minimize even the social lubricant lies. Once you have good culture the real challenge is how to keep it.
That said, at times culture does need to change. Change is also needed as markets, technology and the economy changes and to this end change agents are some of the most valued, albeit uncomfortable, employees any company has. (Be sure to grab a copy of the ebook with the full study.)
Fit makes your clothes look great; fit makes your shoes comfortable; cultural fit drives success, whether corporate or personal.
Just as one-size-fits-all doesn’t apply to great fitting clothes or shoes; it doesn’t apply to company culture—think Zappos and Intel.
Some great people love highly political environments; they consider politics a game and thrive on playing, while others shrivel and die in that situation.
A good friend interviewed at Apple when it was young and hot. She wanted to know about the work, but the interviewers only talked about the campus gym and Friday beer blast, which turned her off.
The true secret of success, both individual and corporate, is fit.
For companies, the kind of culture is less important than whether the people hired are a good fit—not to the propaganda, but to the cultural reality.
For individuals, it’s not really about free massages, catered lunches and foosball, but about how well the company’s values match their own.
Another bit of stupid is the idea that startups/small companies have great cultures, while large, established companies are boring and regimented.
In fact, if you really listen, you can hear the assumptions behind the media chatter on culture—assumptions that a little thought renders ridiculous.
Time spent evaluating and testing cultural fit always pays off, whether you’re a hiring manager or a candidate.
Last fall I wrote that the prevalence of bullying, especially in the workplace, was giving rise to an anti bullying industry and I’ve seen nothing to change my mind about that.
I recently learned that my post was taken by at lease one person to mean that I didn’t believe workplace bullying was real and I want to state categorically that it is very real and way too prevalent.
I’ve seen abusive managers and cultures in action up close all my working life, especially since I returned to headhunting in the late Seventies.
Whether you call it abuse or bullying, it’s out of the closet and getting more and more media attention, which is good.
I learned about the misinterpretation last week when I received a call from a senior manager I’ll call “Lisa.”
Lisa was looking for expert witnesses because an employee has gone to HR with claims that he is being bullied.
I immediately told her that I don’t believe I would qualify as an expert, but offered to listen to the story. (I was very curious.)
Long story short, Lisa explained that her job was very difficult because the department she had recently taken over had a number of very stupid people who insisted on doing things differently from the way she knew they should be done.
She had found the only way to make them listen was to scream and constantly point out what they were doing wrong.
However, one of them was so wimpy he had filed a complaint with HR and the investigation was impeding her work, hence her desire to find experts on her side.
I asked what made her think I would side with her and she mentioned the article.
I then explained in words of on syllable that she had completely misunderstood what I wrote, that her she was bullying her people and that actions such as screaming and public belittling were not only abusive, but created a toxic culture for everybody.
As you might guess, her reaction to what I said was less than positive.
Once dismissed as smoke and mirrors or touchy-feely nonsense, corporate culture is not recognized as the key to success. Not just the success of the company as a whole, but sub-cultures define the success of each team as you moved down the corporate ladder.
Culture drives success more than money; culture attracts talented people and, more often than not, cultural change is responsible for their leaving.
Culture is now recognized as a necessary part of a company’s overall strategy; leaders and managers who ignore workers’ focus on culture do so at their own peril.
“Companies that will perform well will nurture the factors that make their employees feel happier and engaged at work, more connected to overall results, and more motivated to make a strong contribution,” said Eileen Habelow, PhD., Randstad’s senior vice president of organizational development. “Going forward, companies can’t ignore culture. Rather, it should be addressed as a critical component of their overall business strategy.”
“You can clearly identify what makes organizations successful and what is expected, when you look at how the leadership acts and what they value. That is even more important than performance management.”
What’s important when it comes to culture? Do generations really differ in what they want in culture? Various studies describe similar desires from all age groups—the difference seems more in their patience for achieving what they want. The top craving across groups is having the flexibility to balance their life and work.
It has been long said that the new generations have different needs but I can safely say as a leading executive recruitment professional, that most candidates I’ve met over the past few years, no matter what age, have very similar personal desires and needs.
Finally, the big question that always comes up: does a focus on culture pay off? And if so, how well?
There have been multiple studies over the last decade proving a resounding ‘yes’ to the question. One of the most recent comes from Raj Sisodia, author of Firms of Endearment, who offers up compelling statistics.
The publicly traded FoE companies studied returned 750% over 10 years while the S&P overall provided a 128% return. What is even more telling is that over the last 5 years, these same companies provided their investors 205% return, when the S&P lost 13%.
Wow! If those numbers don’t get your attention your people would be wise to leave and if your boss doesn’t get it you should find one who does.
Leadership is all the rage, people go to classes for it, attend conferences about it, read books and blogs, discuss it and obsess about it.
Every person in the leadership industry says over and over that leadership means caring—primarily about people.
But as Bret Simmons points out in Too Busy To Care, knowing about leadership doesn’t mean you will lead when a sudden opportunity opens up—especially if it is inconvenient. I really respect Brett for being so honest, even as to whether it will change.
I recognize that I need to behave differently, and I give intellectual assent to the fact that I want to behave differently, but I honestly don’t know that I will.
There is no aspect of leadership that has value unless it goes hand-in-glove with initiative; in other words, if leadership is yin, then initiative is yang.
Here’s a suggestion for you, skip the culture of leadership and build a culture of initiative—being careful not to kill it.
The funny thing about doing this is that by focusing on initiative, on being willing to take time instead of walking by, you and your people will become stronger leaders without even trying.
(Note: I kept this post short so you will have time to read all three links.)
Companies struggle not only to create great corporate cultures, but to describe them. Perhaps they should read more ads, because off and on I see ads that do a great job of describing various parts of corporate culture.
For instance, in 1998 Sun Microsystems ran an ad that said, “Information shall circulate as freely as office gossip.” A great attitude for any company or manager.
Today I saw another that embodies another great corporate culture action; it was run by IDA Ireland in Business Week.
“New thinking is not about the dollars you invest. It’s about the people you invest in.”
That attitude is even more important today, in a world of shrinking budgets, than it was before tough times hit.
It’s simple; if you want to keep your valuable assets, AKA, the people who keep your company/department/team running smoothly then they need to feel that staying is smarter than leaving.
They need to feel valued even when there’s no money for raises and bonuses.
You do that by investing in them and helping them grow.
And you can do it even when your training budget has been slashed to the bone.
An interesting interview with Ed Schein, a senior professor at MIT and a “pioneer” on the subject of corporate culture, who now believes corporate culture is irrelevant.
Research has shown that culture trumps strategy and the most important component of culture is people.
Do you lie? Do your colleagues, bosses, friends, family lie? Before you hotly say an emphatic NO, storm off in a huff or write a snarky comment read Geoffrey James thoughtful take on 
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