Last week, I had a really interesting conversation with the CEO and CFO of a mid-sized company. They had requested a teleconference because they wanted to discuss the possibility of me helping them improve the performance of their “business partners.” The problem? They had recently experienced a decline in availability of their most seasoned business partners, all of whom were …
Culture of Integrity
Integrity is about ensuring that your words are aligned with your actions. When a company announces its cause/purpose/values, it is making a statement about what it finds important and what will drive its decision making. However, when those words don’t govern the actual behaviors and decisions of senior leadership, the words ring hollow. Human beings easily identify hypocrisy; people smell …
Choose Culture Norms Wisely
As a CEO and/or leader of an organization, culture is your number one priority. One of the most important decisions leaders make is the type of norms one will bring into one’s organizational culture: “business norms” or “social norms.” Business norms are all those things we associate with business: quid pro quo, this for that, things are paid for in …
Culture and Human Energy
I’ve been speaking on the topic of culture for the past 10 years. I’ve been reading on the subject for more than 20 years. There are a lot of books published on culture. They all, including my own – Culture Trumps Everything – take a similar approach. They introduce a particular concept, explain why it is important to organizational culture, …
Culture, Experiences and Opportunities
Human beings differ because of our culture, experiences and opportunities. I have a “life doppelganger.” Although my friend (we’ll call him “Nicolas”) and I don’t look alike, our early-life circumstances were virtually identical, particularly up to the age of three. We were both born in Argentina. We were both born into loving families, with two parents who were highly involved and …
Is implicit bias real?
In my travels, I have recently been asked by several people if implicit bias – also known as unconscious bias – is real. So I’ve decided to write about it here. Implicit bias refers to the beliefs and/or attitudes that influence our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Now that we have a definition, does it really exist? …
Culture and Communication
Last week I had the opportunity to see two highly skilled, highly successful executives – both of whom have a history of effective communication – unravel and devolve into a shouting match during a conversation around the issues of gun rights and gun control. The term one chooses to use is often associated with one’s political position, so I will …
Culture and Power
I recently read a blog written by a friend and colleague, Jed Daly, a 25 year CEO and Vistage Chair. You can find it on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-get-what-tolerate-jed-daly/?published=t In it he discusses the abuse of power that has been so prominent, and now so public, in our culture, as evidenced in the Harvey Weinstein story, and all the similar stories …
Culture and Violence
The National Council for Home Safety and Security had designated Parkland, Florida, the safest city in the state [of Florida] in 2017. It was also named the 15th safest city in America for 2017. Tragically, on February 14, 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, [Florida,] experienced the worst school shooting since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012. Why? …
The Cost of Culture (at VW)
In September 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to Volkswagen (VW) accusing VW of installing a “defeat device” in its 2.0-liter diesel engines. The device was programmed to control engine software that reduced engine emissions to legal limits when it detected only two wheels were rolling (as in during an emissions test) and to be deactivated so that …