Culture eats strategy, structure and, yes, even agile for breakfast!
Looking to make change in your organisation? Don’t know where to start? Culture might be something to consider, given its overwhelming influence.
Strategic planning, re-structures, and yes, even processes such as ‘agile implementation’ are all very popular. They are high up on the agenda of many organisations.
Yet, one could argue, that there is little point in undertaking any of them unless the right culture is in place, first.
Whether the kind of change an organisation is looking to implement is incremental, moderate or transformational, culture has the power to significantly enhance or damage the process.
It’s exhilarating when culture enhances an organisation. But oh, so painful when it damages.
Take the case of the business which wanted to grow and went through all sorts of structural machinations in order to change. At the end of the process the business excitedly promised ‘a new start and a new image’.
However, when it was all said and done, the internal cultural dial hadn’t move an inch. It remained as it had always been: “cynical and apathetic”, which directly impacted ‘customer service’.
So when customers came expecting to see something new, they were sharply disappointed — leaving in droves.
The critical difference between success or failure for that project solely rested on one organisational element: culture.
Many do.
So next time you’re thinking about change in your organisation — even if it involves implementing elements of agile or other fancy methodologies — give consideration to when and how you might address the issue of culture.
It might just save you a whole lot of time, stress and money.
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