A recent Harvard Business Review article described “Three Steps to a High-performing organisation” which included some case study examples and these three points:
- Step 1: Establish a common understanding of culture and metrics for it
- Step 2: Focus on the few changes that matter most
- Step 3: Integrate culture change efforts with business improvement initiatives
It reminded me of my article “Why you don’t need a Culture Change Programme” which makes some similar points. Culture is an outcome and if you think your organisation needs a different culture, that’s fair enough. But, and it’s a big but, you have to ask the question “why do you want to change it?”. What is it about today’s performance that the current culture is affecting (presumably adversely)? If you can’t identify what performance improvements are required and how they will be measured, how will you know that any Culture Change Programme has made any difference at all?
Nobody has to “do Culture Change” (or Six Sigma, or Lean, or Investors in People), or whatever the latest initiative is called. We do all have to align our organisational efforts to achieve outcomes that meet, or exceed, the needs and expectations of our Customers and External Stakeholders. And, if you are not currently achieving the levels of performance your stakeholders want, it’s almost certain that the actions you will have to take to improve performance will result in a change of culture.
My article describes the four elements required for transformational change to succeed and what an effective performance improvement programme might look like. Download it here and, if you need any help NOT doing a Culture Change Programme, let me know how I can help you.
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