Phase 2- Enlightened Pathfinding – “Organization Culture is Predetermined by Your Business Focus”-01.30.17

 by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“You can’t fix culture: just focus on the business the rest will follow.” Harvard Business Review article, April 2016, by Jay W. Lorsch and Emily McTague.

 

 

      Debbie Ahl of Edgewater Advising went on to define culture, in her critique of the above HBR article, as follows: ‘The accumulation of knowledge, expertise, language, attitudes, meanings, roles and behaviors of a group of people.’ Pretty good, don’t you think?

 

There’s a lot in that definition. So much, in fact, that you can see why it doesn’t make much sense to tackle the issue of organization culture head-on: especially as you need to develop one culture for a start-up, another for a fast growing organization, and yet another for a more mature organization.

 

Having said that; the most successful growth ventures establish certain fundamental values and principles early on, which distinguish them from the masses. Those same fundamental characteristics also carry them through all the growth trials and tribulations and well into their prime. It’s at this point where so many of them lose their way. They begin to lose sight of their success-driven, cultural values and so their organization begins to enter into decline; which happens far more frequently than we dare to think.

 

It’s well documented that when countries are at war, the gulf between the wealthy and the poor narrows. However, when peace prevails for long periods of time, the earlier crisis-togetherness matures into materialism and self-indulgence. In exactly the same way, when the growth climb-struggle of a company levels into a profitable gravy-train, key people are inclined to plunder the riches and enjoy the ride. It’s part of human nature. Cultures at this point switch toward a more self-serving stance and become an ego trip for the chosen few. Do you see any parallels with our current economic climate between the top 1% and the middle class?

 

With this phenomenon in mind: for those organizations that do wish to put market and growth bite into their culture, their best bet is to re-focus on business growth and performance to spark that change. This writer recently read an article by someone who advocated that they learnt the most through “doing.” Their mantra was: the fastest way to learn something is to perform the new task at hand and repeat it until you become good at it.

 

Hence the best way of building a solid culture is to define an effective “pathway” and then work at it until the desired results and culture manifest themselves. As we observed in our prior article: “Decision Clarity – Forecasts that are Over-Optimistic and too often Off-base”: by using our intuition in a more confident way, we can gain a stronger sense of our optimum pathway. This is especially true when we have deep understanding of our relevant marketplace. It’s even more possible when we regularly involve the intuitive-minds of other key people within our organization. We all get better and better at forecasting over time with the right approach.

 

Once we’ve identified the outline of that pathway and vision, then we are obliged to stake it out using some hot parameters such as:

» Compelling Vision – What will really inspire our people to embrace and pursue our future intentions?  A number of things will help, such as:

  • Clarify your strategic intent. Make it as sharp as a razor.
  • Freshen your product or your service thinking: including the ones you will need to meet your vision.
  • Refine your business principles and values so they make the simplest sense, and lubricate progress.
  • Define your particular key strategies that will move you forward.

 

» Focused Outcomes – What outcomes should be expected, if you are on the right pathway? These should not be in pure numerical terms – our current way of doing things. Equally important are the human outcomes – ones that will enliven and engage your people into giving their full participation. These could include:

  • Modest Celebratory Lunches – When an organization or team surpasses important milestones, a modest celebration should take place. Coupled with a nice note from a senior executive which will be kept in a prideful place for years to come. The investment is trivial while the acknowledgement is huge.
  • Spontaneous Donut and Coffee Moments – To celebrate another team’s special success; sponsored by an adjacent, cheering team.
  • Early Finish Fridays – To acknowledge a particular individual’s success, along with a short executive note of appreciation goes a long way.
  • There are many other options on this theme, where successes build on success; as they always do with winning teams. Human contributions and efforts are recognized, rather than the alternative statement, “It’s their job!”

 

» Vital Knowhow – What is the knowhow we need to accomplish our desired vision? Too often we get caught up with five conventional knowledge areas – like market, product, customers, financial and operational. While these are all valid, this writer normally witnesses companies coming-up with lists of 15-20 key knowledge items that they require to succeed. They should then get to work on becoming more than proficient in all such areas, so as to succeed.

 

» Key Resources – What are the resources we need to meet our desired vision? Again, too often you observe organizations focus on finance and people numbers – two important areas to be sure. However, this writer has again witnessed executives coming up with 10 or more different resource areas vital for accomplishing their vision.

 

When did you last seriously think about your compelling vision, focused outcomes – human as well as numerical -, vital knowhow and key resources? Do you really have these things in place? If you do, you will also have the culture that goes with them. The right organizational framework and performance set breeds the right culture set; otherwise known as a success culture.

 

To find out more about building a strategic pathway, talk with: