Question of Culture

Even after more than four decades of its publishing, Tom Peters' In Search of Excellence continues to remain arguably the most influential business book ever. It was also the book that brought the notion of organisation culture to the centre stage. Amusingly, Peters draws a parallel between an organisation's culture and fairy tales.

- Girish Menon

Much like fairy tales enable a child to come to terms with fears, organisation culture is an anchor for employees.

All great organisations, Peters describes “are rich tapestries of anecdote, myth and fairy tale...and without exception, the dominance and coherence of culture proved to be an essential quality of excellent companies”. As a corollary to this, one could possibly say that start-ups and younger companies that have a good culture will prove to be enduring and more likely to achieve great things.

Culture Eats Strategy

Today it is an often-repeated phrase that culture eats strategy for breakfast. Some people may feel that the notion of culture is amorphous, but it has an inextricable link with an organisation's financial performance. However, despite the best intentions, so many companies, especially start-ups, struggle with culture, especially when they try to scale up.

In such setups, culture remains a mere homily ornamentation in annual reports or investor decks. A true and abiding culture is to be expressed not merely in words but in action, and that too at every moment.

It has to be pervasive in every transaction and interaction of the organisation, and that too at every moment. It has to be a way of life. For instance, you cannot sustain a culture of being scrupulous to your employees if you are unscrupulous to your customers. Because sooner than later, the employees too will imbibe mendacious ways to deal with each other. Therefore, it is critical to have the right tone at the top. The leaders have to show the way they walk the talk. Their own behaviour will be reflected in the behaviour of their teams.

Making an Impression