Culture – the missing ingredient

We know all too well that organizational culture and strategy can be mutually reinforcing, or simultaneously defeating. Few organizations give equal weighting to strategy and culture when in long-term planning, organizational transformation, and strategy development and alignment. Culture is the foundation on which you build your business and a vital enabler of performance.

The prospect of intentionally evolving culture, in service of strategy, remains an intimidating prospect for leaders. We often see top-down culture initiatives launch with a wave of excitement, only to later wither on the vine. Presenting their own challenges, bottom-up culture efforts often over-index on individual leadership development and neglect the vital role played by groups, teams, and organizational norms. Consequently, we see a disconnect between emergent strategy and organizational culture which can create fatigue, confusion, and sub-par execution.

We believe that leading organizations can carve out a competitive advantage by intentionally evolving culture. And we recognize that organizations are flooded with competing priorities so it’s important to know where to focus and prioritize your efforts to really make an impact.