Approach

Principles

Philosophy

Culture

Communication

Culture has taken a front seat in the quest to understand organizations and shape their behavior. Organizational culture embodies the norms, values and beliefs of an organization. It is a reflection of the culture. While leadership initiates culture, culture shapes leadership. Understanding culture is a key skill for leaders to learn. Strong organizational cultures offer people a sense of freedom, free to explore and collaborate, to observe and share different perspectives, to imagine what hasn't been and invent what needs to be.

Sustainable success requires an ability to harness the wisdom of the whole. The power of a strong culture can be a significant advantage, as can be seen in companies like Hewlett-Packard, a company well known for its culture of innovation. Changing organizational culture is difficult, yet there is perhaps no better way to understand an organization than by trying to change it. Cultures can be shaped, but not as a "top-down" exercise. Change is at the heart of what organizations deal with every day. It is the nature of organizational life. Understanding organizational culture helps leadership become more effective in change. Culture and change are like two sides of a coin.

Throughout the process of change, we honor the organization's history and its desire to achieve good things for good purposes. With the right conditions in place, organizations are intelligent, creative and adaptive. They are cutures where people thrive, rather than exist to make a buck.