Corporate culture can decide the fate of any deliberate strategy to deprive the site’s most experienced leaders. However, business owners rarely pay attention to it when they go in search of a new CEO.
Culture eats strategy for breakfast (culture eats strategy for Breakfast). This phrase belongs to Peter Drucker, the American economist, one of the most prominent management theorists of the last century. The first impression of the heard – disbelief. It would seem, what does such a subjective notion as “culture”, when the modern practice of business administration (strategy) subject to a clearly articulated, well-defined laws? But, oddly enough, culture really wins.
Yes, the strategy today occupies a leading position is its development and implementation is seen as the main owners of a successful business. But it turns out that the definition of a particular strategy, as well as the achievement of the objectives set forth in it, is impossible without corporate culture.
So, according to the consulting company HayGroup, happy employees are 43% more productive than their “work colleagues” and 86% more creative (statistics, University of California, Berkeley). Forbes notes that happy employees 65% less likely to happen releases for the disease, and the American psychologist Martin Seligman, founder of positive psychology, says that they have 37% higher sales. In the end, companies with a higher sense of purpose and involvement of employees in the process outperform the competition by more than 27% in terms of profitability. Eventually, in 2009 Amazon.com $1.2 billion acquisition of Zapros.com that uses happiness as a business model.
What is culture in relation to the business? Generally, it is a collective set of values, which are based on the company’s employees when making decisions. That is, the corporate culture includes many aspects: from your company’s style of work to promote its values. But the most important thing to note is the understanding that culture is a major way to implement organizational activities.
Quote Peter Drucker reflects this corporate law: culture more important than strategy. Imagine that the company takes to action a new strategy, for example, the active growth: to capture the market each year at 10% interest. And this strategy offers a new CEO, implementing measures such as creating new marketing strategies, developing new sales channels and so on. However, to implement this set of measures to have a management team. In that case, if it consists of people, the system of values in which (the culture) does not correspond to the new strategy, it is hardly possible to implement. So, if a new course development requires quick decision making, and top management is not ready to think unconventionally, to take on additional risks, to act dynamically, the CEO will be wasting time trying to convince their subordinates: they will still act like he used to. As a consequence, the implementation of the strategy will be continually hampered by the need to convince employees of the correctness of the solutions.
This problem is often faced by companies when searching for a new CEO.
It would seem that the candidate was found, the previous experience with it not once, not twice led the company from similar situations. But all previous experience must be viewed through the prism of the context in which the CEO has achieved relevant results. For example, at a previous job to bet on individuality, individual effort, and our company adopted a focus on collegiality. Or SEO used to work in a Directive manner – said, and everyone ran to perform. And our company is built on a partnership, everyone is equal, and you need to “sell” his idea to become to implement it.
Similar contradictions arise constantly and, as a rule, lead to the resignations of CEO. Less common variant in which changed the entire top management of the company or, ultimately, the strategy of its development. So, in March of this year, Michael Touch was appointed CEO of the company “M. Video”. ‘ve only worked for about five months and left the company in August. It happened just because of conflict of cultures. Company culture involves the adoption of balanced decisions based on thorough analysis: all as in the saying “seven times measure, cut once.” Michael’s approach was to try to run as many different innovation initiatives that allowed the company to more quickly gain a competitive advantage in the market.
The problem of the “clash of cultures” is universal, it exists everywhere. So, in August of this year was dismissed the CEO of the largest U.S. network of bookstores Barnes&Noble’s Ron Baur. Not having worked in the company and he was dismissed with the formulation “for non-conformity of corporate culture.”
In 2007 around the German concern Siemens broke out a terrible scandal, is able to bury a company that existed on the market back in the mid-nineteenth century. The scandal was linked with the corruption investigation against the company. In the end, the previous CEO resigned. His place was taken by Peter löscher, the first in this post was not the German people, not working in Siemens. To repair the reputation of the company löscher resorted to severe measures: he changed almost 70% of managing Directors and half of the company’s management. It was named the best CEO of the year by several German publications, but in 2013, he was fired. The company culture was too different — he was unable to settle down, to adapt to it, it has stolen.
Corporate culture rarely seriously concerned shareholders and owners. While it makes an immeasurable contribution to the effectiveness of the company.
The culture of the company can decide the fate of any deliberate strategy to deprive the site’s most experienced leaders.
A good model of corporate culture are a breeding ground for innovation, growth, market leadership, ethical behavior and customer satisfaction. Inert culture is capable of at the root to destroy the business efficiency, not only reduce the satisfaction and loyalty of customers, but also demotivate the employees themselves. So do not underestimate this aspect. If you are looking for a CEO, pay attention not only on his previous experience and ideas in relation to your company, but also ask questions about how he plans to fulfill these ideas to life. If you do, the future CEO, correctly assess your power: will you be able to integrate into the existing culture, or do you have the power to change it.
