I had the pleasure of spending yesterday morning listening
to two dynamic speakers: Dan Heath and Chris LoCurto. I was familiar with Dan
Heath as one-half of the
Heath Brothers duo that has written two outstanding
books,
Made to Stick and
Switch.
Chris LoCurto is a vice president in the
organization of personal finance expert
Dave Ramsey. Heath’s presentation was
full of salient points from his books and informative as expected. I was unsure
about what to expect from LoCurto’s presentation, but he knocked it out of the
park with a theme of “Culture Can’t Wait.”
Creating a culture committed to customers and employees
requires leaders make a commitment in five areas:
1. Force
It – Establish the culture that is desired; create change if needed
2. Teach
It – Employees must learn what norms and behaviors are consistent with the
desired culture
3. Recognize
It – We are quick to admonish behavior or performance that does not meet
expectations. Do we praise employees when positive actions are observed?
4. Attack
It – Employees will fall short of meeting expectations, if not outright
challenge expectations. To create the desired culture, leaders must take on the
bad stuff and clearly communicate expectations that comprise the culture.
5. Repeat
It – Creating an organization culture is not a one-time project. Rather, it is
an ongoing process of managing expectations and leading employees.
Your organization’s culture is a in building customer
relationships, improving employee retention, and the firm’s overall success.
For me, the most powerful message of LoCurto’s presentation came in his
discussion of “Force It.” He said “you are either going to force culture or
other people will force it for you.” Who is driving the culture bus in your
organization? Is it the people with the map that understand where you are
going, or is it other people who would rather take side trips than get to the
intended destination?
Labels: Culture, Leadership