Culture Eats Strategy For Lunch

Peter Drucker, a management consultant and an educator who contributed to the foundations of modern management is most known for his work about “culture versus strategy,” and the idea, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” His work was based on the belief that company culture constrains strategy and it can therefore, defeat it. If you don’t have an influential culture, it’s nearly impossible to realize the strategy.

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Strategy is the “what” we do. Culture is the “who” and “how” we work.

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·???????? Strategy is about creating sustainable competitive advantage that allows an organization to outperform its competitors (Brown, 2009). Strategies define the goals that the organization must meet and the plans that must be implemented to get there. Strategy is often formally defined and its success is determined by how well the organization meets its measurable objectives.

·???????? Culture on the other hand is the shared basic assumptions that drive how people perceive, think and feel about an organization (Schein, 2004). Culture is much more difficult to define and measure but can be understood based on the behaviors and artifacts of the people in the group. These behaviors and artifacts drive outputs, that in turn drive the measurable outcomes of the organization. As a result; when a strategy is not well defined — the culture then becomes the default strategy.

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Culture, like strategy can be a competitive advantage. Great cultures leverage their organization's unique mission, purpose and values to strengthen their identity, inspire their employees and deliver on their promise. It's what sets one organization apart from their competition. The reality is that most employees don't feel meaningfully connected to their company's culture. When culture is all wrong, employees and members may leave. When we get culture right, we are able to:

·???????? Attract top talent and retain our most talented employees

·???????? Increase engagement and productivity

·???????? Improve wellbeing and safety

·???????? Deliver the best possible member experience

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For a culture to be successful, leadership must live it and be the role model for others to emulate. And while most people think of leadership as the executives who sit in the C-suite, it is really any leader, anyone. While leaders must be role models, everyone must know and understand the culture.