Strengthening Organizational Culture Improves Performance
In their book “Corporate Culture and Performance” John Kotter and James Heskett provide valuable insights into the impact that a strong organizational culture has on the long term performance of the organization. Their conclusions reinforce a popular quote: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Although the original author of this quote is not clear (many think it was Peter Drucker) the importance of it is clear. It is much more difficult to make significant changes to organizational culture than to organizational strategy. To be an effective leader, you must ensure that the organizational culture and strategy are strengthened and aligned to ensure that employees will act as you hope and expect them to, particularly when the going gets tough. Read more
I remember first reading the quote: “adversity builds character”. I thought this was a valuable insight. However, I later came across a revised version of this quote which stated: “Adversity doesn’t just build character, Adversity reveals character”. The distinction really caught my attention. I believe that there is a great truth here. The essence of a leader’s character is not the situations they have been through – it is how they act when challenged by current situations.
