Summing Up 30 Years of Insights Studying Corporate Culture

Harvard Business School professor emeritus James Heskett, now 88, is still making the business case for corporate culture.  He's summeds up the insights he’s gleaned in more than 30 years of studying corporate culture in his new book, Win From Within:  Build Organizational Culture for Competitive Advantage.

“Strategy is hard; culture is soft,” Heskett writes, beginning a list of common misconceptions. “The impact of a strategy on growth and profit can be measured, but that of a culture cannot. If you get the core values shared by everyone right, the rest will take care of itself. A strong culture helps assure good performance. To change an organization’s culture requires a long time. All of these assertions have been passed around in management circles over the years. And all of them are essentially wrong.”

Heskett’s thesis:  most leaders don’t devote nearly enough time to managing the culture of their companies, and the time that they do spend on it is often wasted.

Is that you?  

Follow Heskett's lead and "live the culture."  Because meaningful change, like many things, begins at the top.