The Wrong Way to Change Your Company's Culture

If you want to transform your company's culture, the biggest mistake you can make is to treat it like a marketing campaign. Many companies do exactly this - they announce a big "culture change initiative" complete with a catchy slogan, mandatory training sessions, and glossy posters in the break rooms. Then they sit back and wait for the results to roll in.

Unsurprisingly, this almost never works. Employees see right through the superficial trappings and recognise it for what it is—a top-down edict forcing an unwanted change on them. At best, they smile and nod while secretly carrying on exactly as before. At worst, they actively resist and sabotage the effort. Either way, the company ends up right back where it started, only poorer in time, money, and morale.

The reason this approach fails is that it fundamentally misunderstands how cultural change happens. You can't dictate it from on high and expect it to take root. Lasting change has to grow from the bottom up, and it has to be voluntary.

The Law of Diffusion of Innovations, popularised by Everett Rogers, explains how this works. Any time a new idea is introduced to a group, people naturally sort themselves along a bell curve of adoption. A few innovators and early adopters jump on board immediately. A few laggards and sceptics reject it outright. The majority fall somewhere in the middle - the early and late majority - who will come around eventually if given time and exposure.

The mistake companies make is focusing their efforts on the wrong part of the curve. They think if they can just convince the mass of people in the middle, the battle will be won. So they focus all their energy there, trying to persuade and cajole and win over the doubters.

But that's like trying to light a wet log. You can blow on it all day long and it will never catch fire. The people in the middle won't budge until they see others adopting the change first. No amount of management dictates or slick presentations will change that.

The trick is to ignore the middle and focus on the kindling - the early adopters. These are the people who are naturally inclined to embrace change. They're excited by new ideas and eager to try new things. If you can get them on board, they'll light the fire that eventually spreads to the rest of the organisation.

So instead of a big flashy rollout, the best way to start a cultural transformation is quietly, with a small group of volunteers. Identify the people who are already exhibiting the behaviours and values you want to promote. Bring them together and empower them to be ambassadors and role models for the rest of the company.

Give them the tools and resources they need to succeed. Remove obstacles and barriers in their way. Celebrate their successes and hold them up as examples for others to follow. Most importantly, listen to their feedback and let them help shape the direction of the change.

As these early adopters begin to have an impact, others will naturally start to follow their lead. People in the middle of the adoption curve may not be willing to take the lead themselves, but they'll happily follow once they see others doing it. Slowly but surely, the change will spread throughout the organisation.

This is not a quick process. It requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to let things develop organically. You have to be prepared for setbacks and reversals. You have to resist the urge to mandate compliance or revert to the old command-and-control approach.

But if you stick with it, the results can be transformative. You'll end up with a culture that is authentic, resilient, and self-perpetuating. One that is truly owned by the employees, not just imposed from above.

The key is to work with human nature, not against it. Understand how people adopt new ideas and use that knowledge to your advantage. Focus on the early adopters and let them lead the way. Be patient and persistent and let the change spread naturally.

It's not as flashy as a big marketing campaign. But it's the only way to achieve lasting cultural transformation. Anything else is just an expensive exercise in futility.

How to Start a Cultural Transformation the Right Way

1. Identify your early adopters. Look for people who are already living the values and behaviours you want to promote. They may be at any level of the organization, not just management.
2. Bring them together. Create a forum for these early adopters to connect with each other, share ideas, and build momentum. This could be a regular meeting, an online community, or a special project team.
3. Empower them to lead. Give your early adopters the autonomy and resources they need to start making changes in their own areas. Remove red tape and roadblocks that stand in their way.
4. Communicate their successes. As your early adopters start to have an impact, make sure the rest of the organisation knows about it. Celebrate their wins and hold them up as examples for others to follow.
5. Listen and iterate. Your early adopters will have valuable insights and feedback about what's working and what's not. Listen closely and be willing to adjust your approach based on what you learn.
6. Be patient. Remember that cultural change is a slow process. Don't expect overnight results, and don't get discouraged by setbacks. Keep supporting your early adopters and trust that their influence will spread over time.
7. Resist the urge to mandate. As more people start to adopt the new behaviours, you may be tempted to speed things up by making them mandatory. Resist this urge. Forced compliance will only breed resentment and undermine the authentic change you're trying to achieve.
8. Reinforce and institutionalise. As the new culture takes hold, look for ways to reinforce and institutionalise it. This could mean changing hiring practices, performance evaluations, or reward systems to align with the new values.

To initiate a genuine and long-lasting cultural change within your organisation, you can follow the steps outlined. While it may not be the fastest or most trendy strategy, it is the only one that will truly be accepted by your employees.