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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER Energize employee engagement and drive cultural excellence throughout your organization In Culture Is the Way: How Leaders at Every Level Build an Organization for Speed, Impact, and Excellence, former NFL Pro, world-renowned keynote speaker, and management consultant Matt Mayberry delivers an incisive and hands-on blueprint to employee engagement and peak productivity. In the book, you'll explore how leaders, at every level, can build a workplace culture that drives organizational excellence and unleashes the full potential of every employee. You'll also learn: * How to build a culture where people can become the best version of themselves and transform organizational performance * Five common roadblocks that prevent leaders from using culture to get the best from their people and how to overcome them * How to implement your playbook for cultural excellence across your entire organization An essential roadmap to organizational transformation with an unbending focus on the importance of workplace culture, Culture Is the Way will earn a place on the bookshelves of managers, executives, and other business leaders seeking to improve the performance of their team members.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Author's Note
Figure List
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1: Is Culture Powerful? Ask a Football Coach
Success Leaves Clues
The Larger Room
Leading Boldly into the Future
The Power of Culture
Why This Book and Why Now?
The Aim of This Book
Notes
CHAPTER 2: What Exactly Is Culture?
Confusion Around Culture
Driver of Organizational and Team Excellence
Negative Misconceptions
Culture Is Not…
Five Key Elements of a Positive Culture
Notes
CHAPTER 3: The Dilemma Traps
The Shiny Object Syndrome
Culture Is Not Sexy
Boeing: An American Giant That Lost Its Way
The Great Turnaround
How to Avoid the Culture Dilemma Traps
Note
CHAPTER 4: The Five Roadblocks to Cultural Excellence
The New Economic Order of Changing Culture
The Five Roadblocks to Cultural Excellence
Actions to Mitigate and Overcome the Roadblocks
Notes
CHAPTER 5: Five Steps to Building a World‐Class Culture
The Five‐Step Process
Note
CHAPTER 6: Create Your Cultural Purpose Statement
Creating a Cultural Purpose Statement
Lessons from College Football Coaches
Much More Than a Clever Mantra
Create Your Own Cultural Purpose Statement
Action Steps for Leaders
Notes
CHAPTER 7: Winning Hearts and Minds for Impactful Culture‐Building
Top‐Down Directed, but Bottom‐Up Created
A Collaborative, Multifaceted Approach
Driving Cultural Meaning and Impact
Action Plan for Leaders
Notes
CHAPTER 8: The Culture Implementation Playbook
Imagine This Scenario
Common Culture Implementation Pain Points
Six Implementation Pain Points
A Playbook for Driving Transformation at Scale
Culture Implementation Playbook
Moving with Urgency and Adaptability
Culture Implementation Playbook Action Steps
Note
CHAPTER 9: Be Fanatical About Sustained Impact
Framework for Driving Culture Sustainability
Five‐Step Fanatical Framework
Full System Embedment for Sustained Impact
Action Steps to Be Fanatical About Sustained Impact with Your Culture
Notes
CHAPTER 10: The Ultimate Differentiator Is Leadership
A Leader's Role in Building Culture
Become a Transformational Leader Now
Build a Leadership Factory
Five Key Elements to a Successful Leadership Development Program
Leadership Action Steps and Reminders
Notes
CHAPTER 11: Commercial Execution
Keep the “Main Thing” the “Main Thing”
Be Extraordinary
Find Your Commercial DNA
The Seven Commandments of SGWS
Extreme Clarity and Understanding
Be Obsessed with Talent
Notes
CHAPTER 12: Be a Chief Culture Driver
The Bigger Picture
The Magic Ingredient
What You Can Do Now
Putting It All Together
A Final Note for You
Chief Culture Driver Pledge
Notes
About the Author
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4.1 The Separation Gap
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5.1 The Five‐Step Culture‐Building Process
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6.1 What Great Cultural Purpose Statements Provide
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.1 Fanatical Framework for Culture Sustainability
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10.1 A Leader's Role in Building Culture
FIGURE 10.2 Transformational Leadership Framework
FIGURE 10.3 Five Key Elements to Leadership Development
Guide
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright
Author's Note
Figure List
Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
About the Author
Index
Wiley End User License Agreement
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MATT MAYBERRY
CULTURE IS THE WAY
HOW LEADERS AT EVERY LEVEL BUILD AN ORGANIZATION FOR SPEED, IMPACT, AND EXCELLENCE
Copyright © 2023 by Matt Mayberry. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per‐copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750‐8400, fax (978) 750‐4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748‐6011, fax (201) 748‐6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data:
Names: Mayberry, Matt, 1987– author.
Title: Culture is the way : how leaders at every level build an organization for speed, impact, and excellence / Matt Mayberry.
Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2023] | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022035758 (print) | LCCN 2022035759 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119913658 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119913672 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119913665 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Corporate culture. | Leadership.
Classification: LCC HD58.7 .M3797 2023 (print) | LCC HD58.7 (ebook) | DDC 302.3/5—dc23/eng/20221108
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022035758
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022035759
Cover Design and Image: Wiley
Author's Note
Some incidents, events, and dialogues are drawn from my imagination and are not to be construed as verbatim, even though they are all based on real people, results, businesses, conversations, and events. Some places and companies have been changed, and many of the names have been changed, along with some features and characteristics, to preserve their anonymity.
Figure List
Figure 4.1
The Separation Gap
Figure 5.1
The Five‐Step Culture‐Building Process
Figure 6.1
What Great Cultural Purpose Statements Provide
Figure 9.1
Fanatical Framework for Culture Sustainability
Figure 10.1
A Leader's Role in Building Culture
Figure 10.2
Transformational Leadership Framework
Figure 10.3
Five Key Elements to Leadership Development
Acknowledgments
Writing a book is never a solo act, and this book was no exception. Finishing this book and completing the manuscript would not have been possible without the special people in my life.
Thank you to my wonderful wife, Aubry, for being so patient with me.
Katie Kotchman, my agent, has always been one of my biggest supporters. Thank you for listening to my crazy ideas and encouraging me.
I'd like to express my gratitude to Wiley, my publisher, for not only believing in but also showing great excitement for this book. Richard Narramore, my editor, was instrumental from the beginning.
Thank you, Donna Peerce, for your contribution, productive discussions, and executing every minor detail.
This book wouldn't have been possible without the help of all of the business leaders who allowed me to interview them and took time out of their busy schedules to help with the production of this book. I greatly benefited from the information you shared with me as well as your leadership.
Each and every client, as well as the organizations and leaders who entrust me with your most valuable asset, your people, means the world to me. My work certainly doesn't feel like work. I am so fortunate for each and every opportunity, relationship formed, and your partnership.
CHAPTER 1Is Culture Powerful? Ask a Football Coach
Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.
— Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why
Football was the first “team” that taught me about culture.
As a football player at Indiana University, I first discovered the extraordinary power and capacity of culture. Terry Hoeppner, my head coach at the time, was one of the most remarkable individuals I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Coach Hep, as we called him, was a special, inspiring, and passionate man whom I wrote extensively about in my first book, Winning Plays.
We were the laughingstock of the Big Ten Conference for football when Coach Hep first arrived at Indiana. We were known more for throwing one of the best tailgate parties in the conference than for providing an electrifying atmosphere to watch Big Ten college football.
The energy and enthusiasm for the future of Indiana Football began to shift after Coach Hep arrived and took charge of our team. Coach Hep had an almost magical aura about him, and when people were with him, they felt an openness, kindness, and friendliness. He was convinced that our football program had the potential to be great one day, and he acted accordingly. He continually talked to us about changing the culture of Indiana Football and setting new expectations for us as players. Everything he did, whether it was sharing his favorite poems or quotes before every team meeting, constantly breaking down the program's future vision, or encouraging and coaching us up at every opportunity, was geared toward changing the program's old beliefs.
Coach Hep died from a lingering illness during my sophomore year. When he passed away, I don't think there was a dry eye in Indiana because he was truly one of the greats. Everyone was left with fond, heartfelt memories and an indelible impression of him.
Our football team dedicated the upcoming season in his honor. We carried his passion, vision, and spirit with us on the field and ended up going to a Bowl game that year. This was our first Bowl game appearance in fourteen years. Yes, you read that correctly. Fourteen years! We didn't have an extreme upgrade in talent. So, it wasn't the talent on the roster that helped us break the fourteen‐year curse of making it to a Bowl game. And we had the same schedule of facing some of the best teams in college football, including perennial powerhouses like Ohio State and Michigan. So, it wasn't because of an easier schedule and weaker opponents.
Simply, it was due to the dedication and leadership of one man who worked diligently day and night to alter the perception and culture of Indiana Football. Coach Hep instilled in us a passionate culture with new mindsets, visions, beliefs, and behaviors that we carried over onto the football field. That is the power of a passionate leader who prioritizes culture‐building and how it can have a profound impact on every aspect of our lives, whether in sports, business, society, or education.
Success Leaves Clues
I learned so many valuable lessons from playing the game of football. From the time I started playing as a little kid, all the way through high school, college, and eventually the NFL, the life lessons accumulated from the game have benefited my life in so many ways.
Over time, I realized that the same characteristics that distinguish the best football teams are also required to succeed in business. A strong commitment to excellence, an emphasis on teamwork, practicing like a champion every day, and perseverance in the face of adversity are a few of these traits. Those same characteristics have been invaluable not only in helping me build my own thriving consulting and speaking business, but also in transforming the organizational and cultural performance of many leading companies.
Adopting some of the key learnings from the game of football and implementing certain aspects of them in the business world is now a large part of the culture work that I conduct for organizations. I am very passionate about the idea that all business leaders should research their favorite sports coaches. Some business leaders and managers clearly understand the power of culture, but most allow it to become a flavor of the month rather than developing the consistency required to build a great one. Even if you aren't a sports fan but currently lead or manage others, I believe there is tremendous insight to be gained from studying the best teams and coaches in athletics.
Great coaches understand the power of culture better than anyone else. In June 2021, The Athletic magazine published an excellent article about how some of the best coaches prioritize building a strong team culture and just how important it is to their team's success.1
Joe Smith, an Athletic staff writer, spoke with Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, Alabama Football Head Coach Nick Saban, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians, and Los Angeles Angels Manager Joe Maddon. Smith wrote in the article, “Turns out, culture isn't a buzzword to them. It's bedrock.”
There is no telling what could happen if more business leaders had the same perspective on culture as some of the greatest sports coaches. Not only do I believe we would build more workplaces that don't struggle to attract top talent, but I also believe we would see more companies play a significant role in making the world a better place and positively shaping every aspect of their employees’ lives.
Let's examine three key lessons from great sports coaches that business leaders at all levels can apply as we move forward on the culture‐building journey.
Develop a burning desire to improve culture.
Generate and bring positive energy daily.
Don't just
manage
people,
coach
your people.
Develop a Burning Desire to Improve Culture
I have never yet met a great coach who did not have a burning desire to improve their team's culture. Whether the team had a fantastic or a terrible season the previous year, their passion and desire for cultural improvement never wavered. It's something I've always admired about the great coaches I've had throughout my football career. Every day, they poured everything they had into building the culture. They linked it to every teaching point, whether it was on the recruiting trail, during a game, in practice, or even while watching film.
You can't just be interested in creating a great culture. Leaders who are committed outperform leaders who are only “mildly” interested. Most coaches are obsessed with culture because a mentor or another coach taught them its value. For example, Nick Saban, the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide and one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, said that he learned about the importance of culture from Bill Belichick, the legendary head coach of the New England Patriots.
Make it a priority as a leader to learn from other leaders who are exceptional builders of culture. Whether those leaders are from within or outside of your industry, study them, and become fanatical about following the way they utilize cultural best practices.
Generate and Bring Positive Energy Daily
As a leader, you are directly responsible for generating energy and setting the tone for the rest of the organization daily. I am continually astounded by how many leaders vastly underestimate the value of the energy they convey to their workforce on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. I'm not suggesting you change or modify your personality, but this is something that all great sports coaches understand and intentionally practice. The daily energy you inject into the organization either fuels the execution of your culture or impedes the growth and development of your efforts.
There are going to be many things that happen throughout the course of a day that you will have no control over. Don't let a controllable event—something we do have control over—be up for questioning. Building a healthy, positive, and thriving culture is extremely hard work. There is nothing easy about it. If you are going to alter the mindsets, behaviors, and attitudes of those whom you lead, it is going to demand a certain level of bold, positive energy from you as the leader of an organization.
When Coach Hep began to gradually alter the culture of the football team, it was his daily demonstration of positive energy, rather than the words that came out of his mouth, that had the greatest impact. He cared, and it was obvious. For successful change initiatives not only to work, but also to keep going forward, positive energy must be generated throughout the whole organization.
Don't Just Manage People, Coach Your People
You must lead the way, manage the process, and then relentlessly coach your people. Ask any current or former athlete about the best coach they've ever had. Chances are that they will tell you that their best coach did a whole lot more than establish the team's vision or oversee the day‐to‐day operations of the team. They will almost certainly tell you that their lives were profoundly changed, both personally and professionally, because of how that coach brought out the best in them. That coach was probably tough on them, but it was only because they wanted the best for their team and the player.
Their toughness and drive for excellence were never misinterpreted as micromanagement or toxic behavior because the players knew their coach genuinely cared about them as individuals. The best coaches in sports, as well as the most effective business leaders who successfully drive transformation across entire organizations, devote a significant amount of time to coaching. They are out in the market showing, leading, and coaching the way forward.
Coaches on the best athletic teams teach and coach their players not only on the techniques necessary to win on the field or court, but also on the behaviors and mindset needed to advance the culture. Even though when you watch a sporting event on television you may see the coaches screaming and constantly yelling, behind the scenes they spend more time listening than talking.
The Larger Room
Whenever I arrive in any city to speak at a major conference, whether it's in front of hundreds or thousands, I like to prepare by acquainting myself with what I deem as the “larger room.” The evening before my talk, or predawn, I will often go to the conference room where my keynote is being held and step out onto the stage. I look out at the empty audience, chairs organized in rows or around tables, a table set up in the back of the room where my books will be featured, and I envision the throngs of people who will be in the audience and start thinking deeply about the impact that I want to create.
I have already spent hours researching this company's culture, so I'm prepared to connect with them and deliver meaningful value to help them exactly where they are.
I walk around the stage, encompassing as much of it as I can. Then I imagine the audience enthusiastically clapping, because I believe they will be inspired to enter their own larger rooms to take their organization's performance to the next level.
As a leader and manager of people, each morning you should be awakening in a larger room, too. This larger room is simply a more expansive vision and heightened perspective of opportunity.
If you close your eyes, you will see in that larger room an open space that is big enough to fill an expanded set of organizational excellence possibilities. Things like:
Revenue and profit growth.
Market share increase.
Trust among stakeholders.
Profitability.
Customer satisfaction and fulfillment.
Employee commitment and loyalty.
Inspiring and collaborative leadership.
Purpose.
Innovation.
Alignment.
Revolution. And a lot more.
At first, this larger room might feel too big, too void of business syntax, too overwhelming, too empty, but think of it this way. It's providing you with an open space for envisioning, creating, and developing innovative ways to move forward in your company and with your teams in a constantly changing business world. So, you can become and achieve more.
Let's face it. The pace of business is accelerating, and leaders must remain cognizant of the ways to succeed in a new world of work and the new opportunities for growth and change. Instead of fighting the tides of change, we must embrace them. After all, do you want to be stranded in an outdated set of possibilities that houses an old, myopic, smaller way of thinking and doing, or do you want to eagerly step into a bigger, brighter room that presents a more profitable future?
I'd like to remind you that when you wake up and enter this larger room of expanded possibilities, take with you all that you have learned in the past, but remain open to new, extraordinary ways to lead and make an impact as a leader.
There is no doubt in my mind that culture is the way to move forward in this larger room.
Let me briefly explain. Since 2020 and the Coronavirus pandemic, we have experienced new challenges and have seen rapidly changing environments that have dislodged us from our stagnant ways of thinking and behaving. Our former beliefs about business culture, how we care for our employees, how we work, and how we lead will most likely not serve us today as we move forward in the pursuit of continued growth and excellence.
All leaders and people managers face an arduous array of fluctuating challenges. They face trying tests like creating and building organizations that can sustain economic downturns, potential world wars, pandemics, AI, and legislative uncertainty, all the while maintaining long‐term viability and gaining a competitive advantage.
When I talk about waking up in a larger room, this is what I mean. In spite of all the challenges, this larger room offers an expansive and enduring vision that allows us to see endless opportunities.
Leading Boldly into the Future
We must face facts. It's a bold new world that requires bold new leadership.
Only 20% of global workers are actively engaged in their work. The global economy is driven by the workers making up this global minority. They add tremendous value, not only to the organizations for which they work but also to the communities in which they live. The other 80% are merely going through the motions. In some instances, those that fall into the 80% may even despise their current workplace and the manager they report to.2
Companies of all sizes have an extraordinary opportunity to change the narrative right now. And each time the narrative is altered for the better, the world is more susceptible to transformation and advancement. I realize this is a bold claim. I mean, when was the last time we thought of companies as having the power and potential to not only do good in the world, but also make the world a better and improved place?
Many of you may not have given much thought to improving the world through better leadership and creating better workplace cultures. For the past few years, however, I've been convinced that this stance is beginning to shift. Organizations can and do have a positive effect on the world around them. Leadership and managers at every level can make a significant contribution to making the world a better place.
As you will learn throughout Culture Is the Way, it all starts with the organizational cultures that leaders build and how boldly they lead into the future. With each bold step forward, we can transform not only business performance but also the world around us and the communities that we serve.
Do business leaders always get it right? Of course not. There will be plenty of challenges on the journey ahead, and mistakes will be made. Priorities will change, but the pace of business will not slow down. Our attention span will most likely fluctuate, and we will continually be pulled in a million different directions. However, when our organizational values are deeply meaningful and paired with wisdom, purpose, and action, when they are embedded into daily behaviors, we move one step closer to creating a thriving culture, and when we do so, we bring our entire workforce into that larger room of greatness.
When we lead boldly into the future and develop those within our organizations to become a more well‐rounded and better version of themselves, we move one step closer to making a bigger impact, and our room expands to an even larger room of possibilities.
Let me give you another example of why I am certain of this. In a survey conducted by the public relations firm Edelman Trust Barometer, survey participants said that they have more trust and faith in their employers than they do in their governments.3
That means there is more hope and opportunity for leaders and organizations around the world than perhaps ever before. We can debate the survey results for hours, but the truth is that leaders and organizations have a once‐in‐a‐lifetime opportunity to rewrite history and create a much bigger and better future.
Many people don't view companies as being responsible for positively shaping the lives of employees. In fact, most employees are reminded of what their parents and grandparents used to preach: “Get a great education, get a job to pay your bills, and work hard.” Sure, this still rings true to a certain degree, but it's becoming more stagnant every day because the workforce has changed in the twenty‐first century and a new set of competencies and capabilities are required to have a career that prospers.
On the enterprise side, most organizations have been known to only care about increasing profits, building a sustainable business model, and delivering exceptional results every year for customers and shareholders. While these general assumptions are not wrong, there is certainly a lot more that is needed to win in the constantly evolving dynamics of business.
Employees demand more from their employers now than at any other time in history. And if employers do not deliver, employees are ready to leave. We've all seen signs in front of local businesses, restaurants, and factories: “We're hiring!” “Help wanted!”
We've wondered how there can be so many open jobs when nearly every employer seems to be offering better pay, benefits, and even handsome signing bonuses. The government's employment report reveals what has occurred: In the latter half of 2021, well over 20 million people quit their jobs. Some have been referring to it as the “Big Quit,” and others have called it the “Great Resignation.”4
What impact does culture have on talent? When it comes to attracting new and aspiring top talent, a company's culture is critical. In a survey conducted by Glassdoor, 77% of respondents indicated that the company's culture would play a significant role in their decision to apply for a job. Millennials in the United States said that work culture is more important than salary (65%) compared to those aged 45 and older (52%). A similar pattern was seen outside of the United States in the United Kingdom (66% vs. 52%). Some 89% of adults polled said it was vital for employers to have a clear mission and purpose. Glassdoor's research shows that a company's pay and benefits are not the only factor in attracting talent, and that the company's culture may be just as important, if not more so.5
“A common misperception among many employers today is that pay and work–life balance are among the top factors driving employee satisfaction,” said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor's chief economist. “We find little support for this notion in Glassdoor data. Instead, employers looking to boost hiring and employee retention efforts should prioritize building strong company culture and value systems, amplifying the quality and visibility of their senior leadership teams, and offering clear, exciting career opportunities to employees.”
Not only does culture matter when it comes to attracting talent, but it is also important when it comes to retaining talent. According to the same survey, 65% said their company's culture was the major reason for staying.
With competition intensifying in nearly every industry and external threats increasing daily, enterprises will struggle to compete and win by doing what they have always done in the absence of a new focus on culture.
The Power of Culture
Overall, culture wields enormous power. It is the deciding factor that not only can create an incredibly dynamic, innovative workplace but also drive extraordinary levels of execution in the marketplace. Culture is the way forward if we are to embrace this expanded set of possibilities and build an outstanding organization that serves a purpose greater than just profit. And one more thing. When I say culture, I don't mean company perks like unlimited vacation time or sleep pods on every floor of the company's headquarters or some cute phrase that leaders throw around every now and then in the hopes of making employees or shareholders happy. In the following chapters, we will define culture in depth and examine how it can help an organization succeed.
When it comes to culture, one of the most glaring issues is that far too many leaders do not recognize it as one of their greatest competitive advantages. And for the leaders who do see it as a competitive advantage, their daily actions often contradict this. Culture should not be an afterthought that is left to the HR department or a separate project that will be taken care of when business slows down.
The best leaders not only see culture as a major organizational imperative but also put culture at the forefront of everything they do. “I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn't just one aspect of the game; it is the game,” former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner said.
Your strategy can be stolen and copied by the competition. They can try to mimic your sales process and clone the vast majority of your company's daily operations. The culture you create is something that no one, including your competitors, can take away or imitate.
Yes, culture is powerful, and it absolutely has an impact on business performance, particularly when management is focused on integrating all their culture work into every aspect of their business. A Harvard University study found that companies with a strong and healthy culture experienced a 756% increase in net income compared to those with a weaker culture.6 I don't know about you, but even if that number is slightly inflated, it still represents a staggering level of growth in the type of business impact that developing a winning culture can have on an organization.
Garry Ridge, Chairman and CEO of WD‐40 Company, told me that building culture is a sacred responsibility that has paid off handsomely in terms of business performance. The company's sales have quadrupled over the past two decades. Furthermore, their market cap increased from $250 million to nearly $2.5 billion. WD‐40 Company's annual compounded growth rate of total shareholder return has been 15% over the last two decades. According to Garry, the company's “tribal culture” is their secret sauce and unquestionably their greatest advantage. What accounts for WD‐40 Company's exceptional employee engagement survey results and astounding market performance? Garry stated that everything boils down to the Four Pillars of the Fearless Tribe. The four pillars are: care, candor, accountability, and responsibility.7
What about the business repercussions of ignoring culture and having a toxic workplace environment? SHRM published some startling data and research on the costly consequences of toxic cultures in 2019. Over a five‐year period, organizations lost $223 billion due to employee turnover caused by a poor workplace culture; 49% of employees were contemplating leaving their current jobs due to a negative workplace culture. In the past five years, one‐fifth of employees left their positions due to company culture.8 And these figures were released in 2019. I'd wager that these figures have gotten worse over time. Culture has extraordinary power, but it can be quite costly if not taken seriously.
As a keynote speaker, executive coach, and management consultant, I've had the privilege of traveling the world for the past decade, working with game‐changing business leaders and some of the world's most prestigious organizations. In my work as a consultant and advisor, I have the unique opportunity to witness cultural and organizational transformations that even those on the inside of an organization once thought were impossible to achieve. I've seen firsthand what can happen when an organization and its leaders begin to ruthlessly build and passionately prioritize culture.
Why This Book and Why Now?
The world felt like it came crashing down on us in March 2020, when the Coronavirus pandemic completely upended how we work, how we lead, and how some businesses compete and succeed in the marketplace.
Some companies were able to successfully adapt and continue moving forward, but the reality is that many companies struggled to find success back then and continue to do so now.
In the past, the word “culture” was often used in the corporate world as a hot commodity, popularized by Silicon Valley. When leaders were told that improving their workplace culture should be a priority, they often rolled their eyes.
Everything changed overnight all over the world because of the COVID‐19 crisis. Business, as we've known it for the past century, died. The old, painfully outdated management styles were completely turned upside down, and the importance of workplace culture became more important than ever.
These shifts brought to light by the pandemic were not temporary. They're not going anywhere. That is what compelled me to write this book. In the midst of a pandemic, the companies that were able to succeed and even advance their mission stood out from the companies that struggled, and for the most part, it was because of their culture.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but I must be honest. A small part of me is happy that the pandemic has emphasized the significance of culture and changed the context in which leaders and businesses must operate. Do not misunderstand; I wish it had not taken a global pandemic and the loss of millions of precious lives to get the point across. This is a defining moment that has accelerated the need for businesses to constantly seek ways to transform and achieve higher levels of excellence. For so long, the focus in business was all about profits and results. Now, you have plenty of corporations who want and embrace a new set of expectations and requirements for their leaders and employees.
Mark Cuban, the serial entrepreneur and businessman and star of Shark Tank, believed that the pandemic could be a defining moment for organizations and their leaders. In a 2020 interview with WBUR Radio's “On Point,” he said that leaders and corporations bear responsibility in a crisis such as the Coronavirus pandemic. “If enough companies get it and do better and set a good example of how a company should be run in America 2.0, I think that's how you get momentum.”
Ask yourself: Is the approach that your company is taking gaining momentum? Or are you just doing what you have always done? Have you been awakening to a larger room each day, and embracing all the opportunities that await you?
Personal mental health challenges and employee well‐being concerns became more prevalent than ever in 2020. A global survey found that nearly seven out of ten people are suffering or struggling in their lives. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau found that a third of Americans show clear signs of clinical depression and anxiety. Even before the COVID‐19 pandemic, this was a significant increase.9
Hiring managers were then confronted with never‐before‐seen difficulties in accessing top talent. There has never been a time in history when companies had to balance so many important aspects in how they communicated with their workforce, the resources they offered, and the implications that ensued.
With as much pain as the crisis inflicted on so many organizations all over the world, the room for error becomes exponentially small when you add technological advancements and an ever‐growing competitive landscape in almost every sector.
The competitive nature of business will not abate any time soon, while the AI and technology surge will continue to grow with each passing second. Culture is the one thing that all leaders and organizations have at their disposal to build and strengthen their organizational foundation to counteract crises, protect themselves from future threats, and win big.
The Aim of This Book
The aim of this book is to create an actionable playbook that leaders can implement in their day‐to‐day operations to not only build healthier and better‐performing organizations but also drive business impact to heights they never imagined.
My hope is that by the time you finish reading Culture Is the Way, you will have a deep and firm understanding of the significance of culture. Hopefully, you will also learn how to drive organizational speed, impact, and excellence while developing your own culture‐building framework. Over the years, this framework has had a positive impact and transformed the performance of many leading companies. In this book, some of those examples and their journeys will be shared.
This is not an academic book with complicated theories and hard‐to‐understand data. I admire and often read many of those books, but this is not one of them. I am determined to take a highly complex subject like organizational culture and distill it down to a relatable approach that will support you in immediately starting to build a great culture for your organization. This book will share real‐life examples, stories, and interviews with everyday leaders who have completely transformed the performance of their organizations by becoming passionate culture‐builders.
Notes
1
Smith, Joe. “Coaching Titans Kerr, Maddon, Arians and Saban Talk ‘Culture.’”
The Athletic
, June 24, 2021,
https://theathletic.com/2647150/2021/06/24/championship-culture-real-or-overhyped-coaching-titans-kerr-maddon-arians-and-saban-weigh-in/
2
Clifton, Jim, and Jim Harter.
It's the Manager
(Washington, DC: Gallup Press, 2019).
3
Edelman. “2022 Edelman Trust Barometer.” Accessed May 27, 2022,
https://www.edelman.com/trust/2022-trust-barometer
4
Whitaker, Bill. “The Great Resignation: Why More Americans Are Quitting Their Jobs than Ever Before.”
60 Minutes
—
CBS News
, January 10, 2022,
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/great-resignation-60-minutes-2022-01-10/
5
Martins, Andrew. “Company Culture Matters to Workers.”
Business News Daily
, December 1, 2021,
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15206-company-culture-matters-to-workers.html
6
Beaudan, Eric, and Greg Smith. “Corporate Culture: Asset or Liability?”
Ivey Business Journal
, August 29, 2011,
https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/corporate-culture-asset-or-liability/
7
Interview with the author.
8
Mirza, Beth. “Toxic Workplace Cultures Hurt Workers and Company Profits.” SHRM, September 25, 2019,
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/toxic-workplace-culture-report.aspx
9
Clifton, Jim, and Jim Harter.
Wellbeing at Work
(Washington, DC: Gallup Press, 2021).
CHAPTER 2What Exactly Is Culture?
Culture is the deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of an organization, that operate unconsciously and define in a basic “taken for granted” fashion an organization's view of itself and its environment.
—Edgar Schein
I am obsessive when it comes to discussing, studying, and building culture.
As much as I love speaking on stage in front of thousands of people or partnering and working side by side with a senior leadership team to drive cultural excellence, those are not my favorite aspects of my work.
There is nothing I love more than the pre‐work that happens before every speaking engagement and consulting project. Maybe it is the athlete in me that still obsesses over the preparation work that is needed to perform to the best of my ability and make an extraordinary impact, but I truly love that part of the process. And I believe this is an important part of the process when it comes to building an extraordinary culture in a business or organization. It's the preparation. A great culture does not emerge by itself. It requires extensive planning, in‐depth internal research, mental shifts, collaboration, and more. Starting in Chapter 5, I'll walk you through a five‐step process for creating an elite, high‐performing culture.
Every situation, whether it's a 60‐minute keynote speech or a year‐long journey with a client to create and drive organizational change, needs a unique perspective and implementation strategy.
