On corporate culture

By Kai Hammerich & Richard Lewis

Culture is embedded in the organisation through the national and business influencers. The nature of the two differs; national influencers are deeply embedded through the values, beliefs and assumptions of founders and leaders. The business influencers are embedded through people and how they respond to the business realities facing them; the industry they operate in, their professional culture, the lifecycle stage of the company, their brand, the innovation rate of the industry and wider societal trends such as diversity and sustainability.

Culture operates at three levels at the same time: the leadership, middle management and the front line. Consistent behaviours across the three levels will help create a stronger culture. However, culture often lags behind strategy by 3-5 years, as change has to be consistently repeated in the work practices to become firmly embedded.

You can change behaviours in an organisational culture that are based on deeply-rooted national cultural traits, but it takes significant effort and time. In the case of General von Moltke, we discuss how he fundamentally changed the values and behaviour of the generals in the Prussian army in the 19th century, to be strategically obedient, yet tactically disobedient when in the mist of battle.

(From “Fish Can’t See Water: How National Culture can Make or Break Your Corporate Strategy”)