All a business is, at the end of the day, is a bunch of people trying to do something together we couldn’t do alone. Culture is our battery. It brings the energy for what we do together.

I think of culture as:

• the set of behaviours and beliefs enabling our group to thrive (or not).

• the worst behaviour we tolerate.

• something we choose.

Not in the way we pick out a pair of shoes. But in how we choose to BE. We’re on the hook for our culture. Always.

It’s something we lead, follow, design, curate, influence, enable. We’re in it. Day in. Day out.

Our culture serves our strategy.

But hold on a minute. What about the famous Peter Drucker remark*: culture eats strategy for breakfast? Well, it’s sort-of true. Sort of.

A good strategy won’t survive a bad culture. But a good culture can survive a bad strategy.

So when we’re focusing on delivering our strategy, we need to think hard about whether our culture is up to the job.

• We might need to work on culture change before we can realise our strategic goals.

• Or maybe we’ll need to evolve our culture intentionally at the same time as setting out on a new strategic pathway.

• Or perhaps we need a strategy to unleash the energy that’s latent in our culture.

Strategy and culture can’t be disentangled. They need to be in synch.

Culture is what propels our organisation forward on the strategic path we’ve set.

Strategic Clarity AND Cultural Energy is how we deliver business success.

So how do we generate this essential cultural energy?

If we want to deliver big results we need to work on big relationships.

This is the model we’ve used at COOK for more than a decade to help us grow an award-winning culture.

UNITY

Are we united behind the big things that really matter?

• Our purpose and/or reason for being. 

• Our values and how we show up.

• Our strategy for delivering unique value in ways consistent with who we are.

We don’t need to be united on everything all the time. But we need to be working from a solid foundation.

CLARITY

Are we all crystal clear on our roles, responsibilities and priorities?

Do we understand why we’re needed?

Are we clear about where we’re going and why?

APPRECIATION

Are we recognising everybody’s contribution in our work together?

Are we acknowledging and celebrating it regularly?

Do we understand everybody’s situation or context?

When we work on our unity, clarity and appreciation, Cultural Energy will start to flow.

This isn’t a strict formula or framework to put into practice, but a lens through which to examine and evolve our culture.

It will prompt various initiatives and action plans in different areas of the business. 

For the leadership team, two activities that will likely come into focus are communication and connection.

• How do we communicate? Note: it’s not broadcast but communicate.

• And how do we connect? When, where, who, why and how do we gather? Great get togethers are perhaps the most powerful tool for developing Cultural Energy.

Underlying everything is recognising that it’s our human relationships that ultimately power our culture and performance.

“Change moves at the speed of trust,” said Stephen Covey.

And trust? Trust moves at the speed of relationships.

STRATEGIC CLARITY //

BRAND VITALITY //

*It’s not clear Peter Drucker ever said: “Strategy eats culture for breakfast.”