Introduction
I often get asked to help organizations establish culture programs and I always start by telling them that to understand my role compared with the role of the person that developed their strategy , they need to understand the difference between agriculture and agribusiness .
Agriculture takes the seed and plants it , nurtures it and then harvests . Agribusiness is what happens when agriculture has finished its role - from the seed to the harvest . Agribusiness takes over from the point of harvest . In a similar manner as a culture expert , my role starts with the organization when their strategy is ready for deployment .
An Overview Of What Culture Is
Have you ever had a dream for the organization or for your department but have had to deal with a disconnect between what is in your head and the performance of your team ? Have you had numerous sessions with your team on an issue and at the meetings you are excited that they seem to get it but when it comes to execution , you are shocked at how things turn out ?
I am very happy to let you know that you are not alone . The number one problem most leaders face is not in strategy . It is in execution . There are many reasons for this . First there could just be a general lackadaisical view towards execution where you just assume it will happen by itself . There could also be a scenario where as a leader you are convinced that because people know it ’ s a good idea and they all see the benefits that they will want to quickly get it rolling .
These are some of the misconceptions that have cost so many companies a lot of time and money - money spent on developing and failing and money lost from the project not taking off as expected . Unfortunately they often resort to using every method they can think of to try to get people to behave and perform in a particular way but it rarely goes the way leadership envisions .
The Folly Of Trying To Enforce Behavior From Outside
You can ’ t have a disruptive company with conventional culture . The culture is what produces the disruption yet many want to hold onto their old cultures and expect disruption to happen . Organizational transformation can ’ t happen without a transformation in the thinking of employees especially their attitude towards the company because there ’ s a direct correlation between enthusiasm , sense of ownership and performance .
Many organizations call on consultants to help them with getting their team members to behave and perform in a particular manner . You often hear HR saying that they want people to be more innovative and so they invite someone to talk on innovation . This is repeated for virtually every level of performance required . Before giving a verdict on this , let us cite two examples .
Nigeria ’ s War Against Indiscipline
Operation War Against Indiscipline ( WAI ) as it then called was a very noble and laudable idea by one of the past military administrations in Nigeria . The goal was to get the people to become more orderly in their behavior . They were expected to be orderly when standing on queues and to generally embrace good behavior . However , to enforce this , soldiers were placed at bus stops and public places and these soldiers whipped people who did not comply . Well , as long as the whips were visible , people did comply but when that administration was overthrown , the behavior was promptly restored to default setting . People went back to behaving the way they did before .
Japanese Fans and the 2018 World Cup .
During the 2018 World Cup , Japanese fans cleaned up the stadium after their matches . It was not for reward and neither was it a photo op . There was something from within that drove their actions and that ' something ' is what we need to infuse into our organization .
While the Nigerians were whipped into behaving in a particular way , the Japanese seemingly had no external motivation and this reveals a very important dynamic of culture .
That ' something ' is the same reason why apples do not grow in the desert and why palm trees don ' t grow in the North Pole . There is a right climate for every expected outcome . So also in an organization , there is a right culture for every strategy .
Another example of the importance of environment on behavior - one which I have spoken and written about extensively is the polar bear as a case study . A person may have a vision to bring in a polar bear into Kenya . It is very possible and it is also possible to have everything right - the right team , the right equipment , the right resources and an abundance of enthusiasm . When the polar bear arrives , it is celebrated with great fanfare but in a few days , it is dead . The polar bear can be likened to the strategic plan . If everything is right with the strategy and the environment ( culture ) is not right , the strategy will not achieve what it was meant to achieve .
The same principle influences adherence to traffic lights . A person who has never stopped for a red light in a certain country will stop in a totally different country because of the environment . The converse is also true that a person who grew up in an environment where they indeed stop for traffic lights , will behave differently when exposed to a different environment where people have no regard for traffic lights . These examples showcase the importance of the cultural environment in shaping behavior .
Culture Versus Strategy
The mindsets and belief systems of people is what determines how they behave and that belief system is shaped by their