"Everybody talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it.

"
Mark Twain

What is Corporate Culture?

Culture refers to an organization's values, beliefs, and behaviors. In general, it is concerned with beliefs and values on the basis of which people interpret experiences and behave, individually and in groups. Cultural statements become operationalized when executives articulate and publish the values of their firm which provide patterns for how employees should behave. Firms with strong cultures achieve higher results because employees sustain focus both on what to do and how to do it... More

9 Signs of a Losing Organization

3.

Discouraging Culture: no shared values; lack of trust; blame culture; focus on problems, not opportunities; diversity is not celebrated; failures are not tolerated; people lose confidence in their leaders and systems... More

8 Common Errors in Organizational Change Efforts

By: John Kotter

Neglecting to anchor changes firmly in the corporate culture... More

Balanced Organization: 5 Basic Elements

Leadership (Fire):

Corporate vision inspires and energizes all employees. Leaders are energized, communicate strategic direction, and lead by example... More

Case in Point 25 Lessons from Jack Welch

At General Electric (GE), corporate values are so important to the company, that Jack Welch, the former legendary CEO of the company, had them inscribed and distributed to all GE employees, at every level of the company. The sum is greater than its parts at GE as both business and people diversity is utilized in a most effective way. A major American enterprise with a diverse group of huge businesses, GE is steeped in a learning culture and it is this fact that makes GE a unique company.

As Jack Welch puts it: "What sets GE apart is a culture that uses diversity as a limitless source of learning opportunities, a storehouse of ideas whose breadth and richness is unmatched in world business. At the heart of this culture is an understanding that an organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive business advantage."

Humorous Business Plan: How To Succeed In Innovation

Growth Risk: "The more you measure and motivate based on innovation, the less likely you will have a truly innovative culture." Stephen Shapiro... More

Inspirational Business Plan: Successful Innovation

Development Risks: "The things we fear most in organizations fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances are the primary sources of creativity." Margaret Wheatley... More

Inspiring Culture
Do you want to encourage extraordinary performance from your people? Do you want them to do great things? If yes, then you must create an inspiring corporate culture to inspire and energize them... More

10 Roles of an Inspirational Leader

10. Make business fun. As business

today is about passion and creating new things, fun has become a big element in the business strategy of many highly successful businesses. Make fun an important part of your corporate culture to enable relentless innovation and create an inspiring culture. "What's really driving the new economy and confounding the grand pooh-bahs of the old one is that individuals are having a huge impact. And an awful lot of fun," writes Edward O. Welles in The Fun Factor. People should be happy at work and have fun. Encourage just-for-fun programs. "Find some humor in your failures. Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm always, advised Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart... More

Creating a Culture for Innovation

By: Soren Kaplan

A common metaphor for culture is the iceberg. Icebergs float on top of the water and are visible to the eye, but beneath the surface they may extend hundreds of feet and can be significantly larger than whats visible above water. As a metaphor for organizational culture, the part of the iceberg above the surface is the visible culture, including such things as the stated vision, mission and values, organizational charts, policies and procedures, and formal processes. As we look beneath the surface, however, we find clues as to the way things are really done around here norms, unwritten rules, shared assumptions, taken for granted beliefs, process workarounds and so on. Whats above the surface isnt always consistent with whats below. Its whats beneath the surface that really supports or inhibits organizational culture and the ability to innovate... More

The Seven Dimensions of Strategic Innovation

The Strategic Innovation framework weaves together seven dimensions to produce a range of outcomes that drive growth. A company's Organizational Readiness may drive or inhibit its ability to act upon and implement new ideas and strategies, and to successfully manage operational, political, cultural and financial demands that will follow... More

Kaizen Culture
Kaizen, or continuous improvement, is an integral part of corporate culture. It requires continuous both conscious and sub-conscious thinking about improvements from everyone. Nurturing and effectively integrating Kaizen into corporate culture is not easy. It requires a sustained effort. But, as Toyota has demonstrated, it offers a more sustained competitive advantage... More

Kaizen Mindset Recognize that any corporation has problems and establish a
corporate culture where everyone can freely admit these problems and suggest improvement... More

Cultural Intelligence
Cultural intelligence (CQ) is your capability to grow personally through continuous learning and good understanding of diverse cultural heritage, wisdom and values, and to deal effectively with people from different cultural background and understanding... More

Competitive Culture
Based on 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu

Competitive philosophy is described by Sun Tzu as "The Way" or "The

Path." In business, it is called "corporate culture" or, as an focus, the "company mission." Your core as competitor is your competitive philosophy. A clear philosophy makes decision-making easier. Philosophy guides everything else you do in competition. Nothing is as important as having the right way of thinking. A competitor with a strong philosophy is a strong competitor. Understanding your competitor's philosophy allows you to predict them. Sun Tzu's two main issues regarding competitive philosophy are: 1. A Philosophy of People: Your philosophy must be people centered. Your goal must be to serve the needs of people. Every competitor's strength depends on the support of people.

2.

Unity and Focus: Your philosophy is the source of your competitive focus and unity. Philosophy brings people together, uniting them into an effective group. Philosophy also provides your focus that tells you what is important now. Having people united and focused is the source of all strength... More

Winning Corporate Culture

Values-based Strategically Aligned Adaptive... More

Building Team Culture

10 Action Areas

1. 2. 3.

Provide inspiring vision Define shared values Set stretch goals... More

5 Strategies for Creating a Culture for Innovation

Inspire: Provide an inspiring vision; lead innovation; emphasize opportunities, not problems; trust your people...
More

Developing The Fast-Paced Flexible Culture

By: Michael Dell

Set a Common Goal. Mobilize your people around a common goal. Help them feel a part of something

genuine, special, and important, and you'll inspire real passion and loyalty... More