“Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast” is a popular belief in modern times. The idea that culture is the main moderator for success and top performance within organizations. Without a strong culture, organizations are doomed to mediocracy or worse extinction. The strength of an organization’s culture is what separates the good from the great. This all intuitively makes sense, but does culture really eat strategy for breakfast?
There are dimensions of cultures that we can influence, but there are others that are simply random. Cultures have a variety of serendipitous elements that when combined together, create something unique. Elements such as timing, world events, development of technology, seasonality, the makeup of teams/organizations, societal values, and norms. All elements we can try to control or plan for but really develop at their own pace.
Additionally, culture lives in a Wicked Environment, full of situations in which feedback in the form of outcomes of actions (or observations) is poor, misleading, or even missing (Hogarth, 2015). A misunderstanding of the environment culture operates in can fosters overconfidence of the extent culture can be controlled or influenced.
Culture is a powerful force, but its volatile nature and sensitivity to unknown factors make it something that can only be controlled and influenced to a certain degree. For a culture to develop and mature it needs room to grow. Attempting to control every element of the culture, results in suffocating it. It is a poor strategy, leaving organizations with cultures that have all the right words on the outside but lacks any substance inside. Authentic Cultures originate inside out with purpose.
Culture does not eat a strategy for breakfast. A good culture is essential to any organization, as is a thoughtful strategic plan on how to develop it. Specifically a talent strategy can aid organizations in the way they approach culture development, and how they respond to the uncontrollable elements that influence it.
A thoughtful talent strategy enhances culture.
Without a talent strategy, individuals within a good culture can be limited in what they accomplish. While a good strategy can create opportunities for individuals and manifest a positive culture. Thoughtful planning waters and fertilizes the environment. While that doesn’t guarantee growth, it does provide opportunity.
Without a doubt, a strong culture is vital to unleashing the talents of individuals within the organization. However, strategy is just as important as it helps encourage cultures to develop in a positive manner and provides talent opportunities to shine.
Culture doesn’t eat strategy for breakfast. Culture and Strategy eat breakfast together.
References:
Hogarth, R. M. & Lejarraga, T., Soyer, E. (2015). The Two Setting of Kind and Wicked Learning Environments. Association for Psychological Science. Vol. 24(5) 379-385. DOI: 10.1177/0963721415591878
