For those who think “culture change” is just some buzzword, research shows culture actually affects profits. A lot:

As much as half of operating profit can be attributed to a company’s culture:

In his new book, The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance, HBS Professor Emeritus James L. Heskett attempts just that. “Organization culture is not a soft concept,” he says. “Its impact on profit can be measured and quantified.”

Heskett finds that as much as half of the difference in operating profit between organizations can be attributed to effective cultures. Why? “We know, for example, that engaged managers and employees are much more likely to remain in an organization, leading directly to fewer hires from outside the organization,” Heskett writes in the book. “This, in turn, results in lower wage costs for talent; lower recruiting, hiring, and training costs; and higher productivity (fewer lost sales and higher sales per employee). Higher employee continuity leads to better customer relationships that contribute to greater customer loyalty, lower marketing costs, and enhanced sales.”

What’s employee trust worth to a company? Potentially, an increase of 2.5% in annual revenue.

Read more: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/culture-change/

Culture is as culture does. 

Wise words. I need to ponder this more...

6. Avoid openly trying to reform people. Every man knows he is imperfect, but he doesn’t want someone else trying to correct his faults. If you want to improve a person, help him to embrace a higher working goal — a standard, an ideal — and he will do his own “making over” far more effectively than you can do it for him.

Read more: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/culture-change/#ixzz2dIwanYEm