As the strategic planning consultant to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, I get some inside looks at the high performance culture of the sports world. A couple years ago, I was sitting next to a very sweaty and happy Chris Perry, who minutes earlier had won an NCAA championship title. I asked Chris when he started wrestling. He said in fourth grade. It takes that kind of proactive plan to become an NCAA Champion, and his dad was sitting behind us weeping tears of joy.
I think my buddy Rich Bender (head of USA Olympic wrestling) is weeping tears of another kind. The sport has been mostly reactive over the years. They thought by default they would always be in the Olympics, until the IOC unexpectedly voted them out. The default/reactive approach resulted in the unthinkable, whereas Perry’s proactive approach resulted in the mostly unachievable.
I ask organizations all the time “Are you winning?” Most of the time, when they are being honest, they answer they are doing fine, which is less enthusiastic than a triumphant “YES, WE ARE WINNING!” In fact, many show evidence that they have more problems than wins on the horizon. With the coming talent shortage as baby boomers exit the workforce, with the technology challenge, and with the ever growing global marketplace squeezing in, we find more and more businesses are losing. With human capital historically blamed by CEO’s as an area where all initiatives come in “over budget, after deadline, and we still don’t know if it works,” we have failed to effectively maximize our greatest asset.
Often leaders feel the human capital side is the “soft” side and you can’t measure it, so it is put in reactive mode. But what if your CEO could get 10-20% more profit without investing any significant money, with no new equipment or technology, just by proactively measuring and working on something already within the organization? Wouldn’t the board demand they get right on it? What CEO would not get moving on that?
The answer is shocking. Our work with organizations on Accountable Culture Management tells us that only about 10% of leadership teams will work on organizational culture proactively. We call them “ten percenters.” So most organizations are taking a “culture by default” approach and leaving massive productivity and profit gains on the table for their competitors. Similar to the world of Olympic wrestling, they don’t believe there is anything more they need to do regarding organizational culture in order to continue to “win” in their industry.
The day of reconciliation is coming for this. More and more organizations are attacking proactively with a “culture by design!” approach. Companies like Nike are already doing it. As vice president Joann Russell stated, “At Nike, a specific imperative we use is framing culture as an offense… We want to build strategic engagement, and we use culture as a driver and generator for that kind of growth.” Even small companies like Area Ambulance with 68 employees have used organizational culture as the foundation for tripling revenue. CEO Keith Rippy had this to say about proactively creating a high performance culture, “Leaders have to take a position and own it.”
As Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita said, “If you track productivity and new product development and sales, why would you not bring this same management process rigor to your culture?” But of course, this is only if you want to make more money and achieve higher performance. If you are already rich and happy, then your organization can rest while your competitors get their culture advantage figured out. However, if you are interested in 17% higher net margins, better Mondays and want to become a “ten percenter,” then come to the CSIA annual conference and attend my session Building and Maintaining a Culture of Accountability. I’ll even give you the $150 research study for free, along with a road map for, well, you know, building and maintaining a culture of accountability!
Author Ted Garnett is the president of "PS Culture Matters," an organizational development consultancy, the author of the book "Build the Culture Advantage" and the producer of the video "No Excuses." He lives in the United States and has worked with organizations of all sizes in strategic planning, leadership development, high performance culture and executive coaching.