ation

Quintessential Thought

We’ve been exploring culture in our recent newsletters, using the primary dimensions of culture and four dominant types of culture.

While not inherently "bad," a company culture may need to adapt to address changes in the environment or achieve new goals. For example, a culture that emphasizes stability and efficiency may need to become more flexible and adaptable to compete in a rapidly changing market. This is often where Agile approaches meet their biggest challenge.

So, how can you see where your culture might need to be adjusted? Here are some things to observe:

• Difficulty Attracting Top Talent: A toxic or outdated culture can make it difficult to attract and retain top talent.

• Declining Employee Engagement: When employees feel disengaged and unhappy, it can signal that the culture is no longer meeting their needs.

• Falling Performance: If your organization or product aren’t adapting to the latest needs of your customers, it may be due to a culture that is hindering innovation or collaboration.

• Failing Strategies: As Peter Drucker famously said, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." No matter how well-designed your strategy is, it will succumb if the culture is aligned against it.

Also, consider that these signs may be exhibited in a portion of your organization (like, Gen Z employees or a specific product). Just because it’s not widespread doesn’t mean it’s not important to pay attention to.

Your results come from your culture - customer satisfaction, product innovation, employee engagement, etc.. If you want to sustain results, find and protect the parts of your culture that make it possible. If you want different results, find and change the parts of your culture that aren’t serving the desired outcomes.

Unstuck has a workshop for leadership and product development teams to consider your culture and find your next steps. Just hit “reply” to explore how we can help you!

Quotes

“Every change that is made will lead to risks. which must be mitigated. But the greatest risk is not to move.” — Christian Sewing

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic.” — Peter Drucker

“If you always do what you did, you'll always get what you got.” — Marian Diamond

Quick Step

Consider recent strategic results and how your team’s or organization’s culture has affected it.

1. Identify one element of the culture that will sustain success.

2. Identify one element of the culture that impedes success.

Question

What is one small step you can take to affect the culture?

Applying Professional Scrum, Oct 21 - 24

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