There aren’t many leaders who would disagree with the idea that a healthy, productive culture is a defining element of business success. Yet I’ve seen so many companies with lofty-sounding “mission statements” and “core values” that have the most toxic workplaces imaginable. I’ve met so many leaders who are brilliant when it comes to product design and capital structure but who treat the people in business as an afterthought, a matter of sound administration as opposed to daring innovation.
5 Questions to Ask About Corporate Culture to Get Beyond the Usual Meaningless Blather
There aren’t many leaders who would disagree that a healthy, productive culture is a defining element of business success. Yet so many companies with lofty-sounding “mission statements” and “core values” have the most toxic workplaces imaginable. Too many leaders still treat the people factor in business as an afterthought, a matter of sound administration as opposed to daring innovation. In other words, so much of our thinking about culture has become so bland, so unobjectionable, that it is on the verge of becoming meaningless. What follows, then, is an attempt at culture shock — five hard questions about the “soft” side of business that leaders must be able to answer if they hope to build a workplace that works: 1) Is your talent strategy rooted in your business strategy? 2) Does your company work as distinctively as it competes? 3) Can you capture what it means to be a member of your organization? 4) Is your culture built for learning as well as performance? 5) Can your culture maintain its zest for change and renewal, even when the company stumbles?