culture-simplicity

Culture is said to be hard to implement because it relates to the human factor and to the need for people to link with one another and cooperate for a common cause.

To win through this implementation challenge, culture should be kept simple in its concepts and wordings as to be given more clarity. More clarity, in its turn, will make it more understandable and easier to communicate and will lead to greater consistency under the various business circumstances.

To show that simplicity is possible when dealing with culture, we provide here below simple, short answers to some critical issues about culture.

When do we need to bring in a new culture?

Two distinguishable cases:

a)      When a successful organization finds itself stumbling and is no more successful (What got it here won’t get it there)

b)      When a struggling organization finds itself in a state of disarray and when the individualism of its members trumps organizational cohesion

What is culture?

Beyond its ordinary definition, we can see culture as a cohesion force that substitutes for a lot of rules and bureaucracy.

How is culture related to strategy?

Culture, the people’s mindset, should align with strategy i.e. a change of strategy necessitates a change in culture.

Where should a change of culture start?

Culture emanates from the top. The CEO and top leaders have an important role not only in crafting the desired culture but also in serving as role models for its implementation.

How long does it take to embed a new culture?

Culture is a long-term endeavor and for success, it should trickle down from the top and involve through practical measures everyone in the organization.

Culture is not about long drafted manifestations but about the way we do things that are shaped by our beliefs and mindsets. The clearer and simpler those are, the more are the chances that our culture will spread and take roots at all the levels of the organization.

Obscurity or complexity should never be allowed to creep in our wordings for culture and to hide or confuse the simple but critical pylons of culture trust, transparency, relationships and the mindset we engage with, in the pursuit of the organizational goals.

About the author: Panikos Sardos is the Managing Director of P&E Sardos Business Solutions Int., a management consulting firm that offers advisory services, coaching and training and can be reached by email: psardos@sardossolutions.com or telephone: +357 99640912, +357 24400884, www.sardossolutions.com