Does Culture Trump Strategy?

All organizations have an unwritten pattern of habits that are representative of their ideals and beliefs; their culture.  This culture directly influences attitude, activity, and consequently performance.  I am a firm believer that culture is one of the most important dynamics that determine success of an organization and a significant strand of culture’s DNA is communication.  How an organizations guiding principles and values are conveyed and consumed ordains the character of its culture.  Although  there are many qualities that yield organizational success, leadership must impute influential appeal that drives behavior.

Throughout my professional career I have had the fortunate experience of working in different industries and under diverse leadership.  A common quality that has been extremely clear to me is profound loyalty to a set of governing principles.  The three components that, I would imagine, should define these foundational cornerstones are:

• Thought- A methodical structure of thought the directs decisions.
• Processes- Strategic systems that assure quality control
• Nexus- A matrix through which information is consistently and concurrently disseminated
• Clarity- Concise simplification of desired outcomes

Through these ideologies organizations are able to create a culture with predictability and uniformity that its customers can rely on.  When we are able to surround ourselves with like minds and desires, we are able to deliver a constant product that connects with our customers. We gain the allegiance of employees that allow them to perform because of who they are not what they have  been told to do.

In order for a workplace to exude this compelling allure, there has to be analyzation of how decisions are made, processes developed to directionalize thought, and buy-in to assure that definitive intellection is embedded into the company’s culture.  Then and only then will you find required routine reactions to your everyday challenges that ultimately craft the architecture of an organization.  At the end of the day we all want to become better at whatever it is that we decide to do and we all want to win.  Organizations that establish this atmosphere tend to attract, develop, and retain top talent, which afford them longterm success.

Does culture trump strategy?  If I had to prioritize the two, I would absolute place culture before strategy.  However, I personally believe that Culture is a Strategy; A plan of action that roots comprehensive and communicative standards to guide everyone’s decisions and behavior.  This commonality connects all organizational entities to one communal denominator; A categorical style, and character of a company.  As leaders, it is our responsibility to infect a perpetual protocol that defines and edifies our Culture.  Great Selling!