As we work on our NPD strategy one of the recurring questions has been whether we build it around the existing culture at our externship A company or aim to modify certain ingrained practices and ways of doing things, in 3 months and working in a consultative mode this has it’s challenges but it has led me to question if and how cultures can be changed and the best way to approach this

Culture is one of the main strengths and weaknesses of any organization. It’s hard to quantify or capture. It’s what you say, look like and do. It is layers of human transaction built across many years juxtaposed with the nuances and memes of the everyday. Culture started on day one and while it can be heavily influenced by leadership, the two are not synonymous. It grows in the cracks between directives and employee handbooks. As complex as any human being it is the DNA that runs through the core of an organization. It may be the thing that drives it to greatness; it may be the thing that hinders growth: usually it’s a mix of both.  

Like DNA while modification is a tricky and calls for a considered amount of skill it is entirely possible. Many people think if you stick some beanbags and an espresso machine in head office suddenly you have a ‘new culture’, some sort of Googletopia where productivity skyrockets driven by a heady mix of espresso and emancipation. From what I have seen, read and experienced recently, modification seems to require sustained actions, commitment and a shared understanding.

 The book Maverick by Ricardo Semler a Brazilian entrepreneur who changed the culture of an industrial giant ‘Semco’ inherited from his father, is a great document of the undertaking of a culture change. It is full of challenges, setbacks, small steps, recurring arguments and conversations. The concept that came through strongly to me was that of repetition. Change comes through sustained commitment to doing things a different way. It will rarely happen overnight and hinges on shared understanding of the values and benefits of the new way of doing things  

A trip to Austin this weekend made me reflect further on culture. Austin is a city that revels in its quirkiness. It has a campaign to ‘Keep Austin Weird’ and drives larger organizations out of the town centre claiming they dilute its culture (laters Starbucks). It’s full of small businesses and people who do different. Every enterprise just oozes personality and creativity. This is both driven and bolstered by the shared understanding of ‘this is how we do things here’ and different approaches are embraced and rewarded. The end result is something quite marvelous – a city packed full of energy, talent and a sense of fun that keeps coming up with new and exciting ‘products.’ Much like Rome it wasn’t built in a day but I can help thinking that somebody started somewhere…