Company Culture

While the conversation about culture is now at its apex in the business world; there are still many who are uncertain of exactly what impact culture has on the organization’s ability to break through the performance ceiling. In our years of working with organizations at various stages of maturity, we have come across many who land in the “too much” or “too little” camp, and only a few who are progressively operating in the “just right” space. In this article, we will expose t

So, how do companies like Patagonia rise above? How do they actually create a culture that lives and breathes ethical behavior guided by a core set of values – and do so sustainably and profitably? It can’t be easy, right? You might be asking, “Who leads such transformation?” “Would my company’s people widely adopt a core-values initiative?” “How would we measure success?” “How long and how much money would it take?” These are all valid C-suite questions. But if this is what’

There is a famous parable shared with business students in colleges across America, used to showcase a tendency of organizations to be unaware of the slow evolution of their internal culture, called ‘the boiling frog’ theory. The story goes that a frog placed in boiling water will fight like mad to escape, but one placed in lukewarm water that slowly rises in temperature will not notice the changes until it is doomed. While this story has been scientifically disproven , it st

It’s widely understood that about half of America’s marriages now end in divorce . (Actually, the divorce rate has fallen in recent years.) What’s less well-known is that, as with marriage, a roughly similar proportion of corporate mergers and acquisitions— 40 percent —also fail to fulfill the hopes of those who enter them. What’s the reason for the iffy prospects for M&A success? In a nutshell: It’s placing your trust in hope instead of doing your homework. In my experience,

Real leaders, wrote the novelist David Foster Wallace, are people who “help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own.” At the end of 1914, Ernest Shackleton led the first-ever attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. That attempt was a failure. Yet Shackleton is widely regarded as an exceptional leader and is often used as an example of what h

The best way to improve employee engagement and create a winning corporate culture is to articulate the purpose and mission of the organization in a way that inspires people to be all in. That being said, gaining employee buy-in takes more than a steady check and a strong building. The purpose the business exists must be more compelling than to turn a profit or make more money for the founders. The purpose of the business must be big enough and exciting enough for people to c

The engagement level of your workforce expands beyond the limits of offering tangibles such as a great benefits package, competitive market rates, flexible work schedules and challenging projects. Your company culture is truly your competitive advantage. Most leaders are intent on shaping a constructive, collaborative and innovative workplace; however, accomplishing this eludes most. The following 8 steps are tried-and-true advances to creating a great place to work. 1. Unde

In today’s disjointed world, most people say they feel disconnected and apathetic in regards to their jobs. With all the negative noise...

Most of us spend the majority of our time at the office or actively working inside or as part of a human work system. Whether we are...