Alignment is the Key to Success

Culture is like the air we breath, we only know we are in a culture when it changes. There are four main cultures: command and control, competitive, collaborative and creative. Culture is driven by the hidden agends of the leadership and employees. the hidden agendas come about because of needs people have. These needs define people's listening, leadership preferences, and their behavior in the organization.

The culture and the needs of the strategy must be aligned for the strategic direction to be achieved. We assess this when we first begin working with an organization. We determine the employee behaviors needed to make the strategy a success and then asses to see if the current state matches AND to see if the desired direction is comfortable for the employees. This is done before a change is even broached. The results will tell us how long it change will take, how much it might cost, what direction the change should take, and if it will be successful - before we start making any change at all.

Our e-workbook, The Evolution of Corporate Culture was designed to help you assess your culture and learn its strengths and challenges. We go into more detail about the four kinds of culture, how you can tell what yours is and lets you think about what changes might move your firm forward. It comes with a free half hour of consulting.

Getting your culture right will move your organization forward by leaps and bounds. A strong, well aligned culture is the secret ingredient in the success of many organizations. Many entrepreneurs get caught up in business operations and do not spend the time they should on the business itself. It is never too early to begin to think about what kind of culture you wish to have. Listen to the interviews of Scott Tibbitts and John Sage on the nternet radio show Enlightened Business, to learn what other successfull business men have done.