By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Culture Trumps Strategy - NOTDoes culture trump strategy? I think not, and I’ll explain why. Even though I have seen this phrase quoted by some very bright people whom I respect, it just doesn’t resonate with me. I thought perhaps I was misunderstanding what was being said, so I decided to Google the phrase “Culture Trumps Strategy” and found that Stanford offered an Entrepreneurship Lecture by this title, I found several CEOs using the phrase in speeches, press releases, etc., I even found a few blogs espousing the mantra of “Culture Trumps Strategy.” Could this just be an issue of semantics? Maybe it’s just a nice politically correct soundbite that gets some good play, or is it simply flawed logic? I’ll frame the debate – you decide.

Since when are a healthy culture and sound business strategy bifurcated? Great corporate cultures are intentional – they are built by design. While I suppose that a great culture could somehow evolve by default or osmosis, I have yet to observe it. Creating a healthy culture is a matter of making it a focus point within the corporate values, vision, mission and strategy. Put simply, a corporation’s strategy that ignores, or only pays lip service to culture, will be the beneficiary of the toxic environment they deserve.

Even if a company lucks its way into a good culture, I would suggest it will not be sustainable without being part of the core business strategy. Culture formed by the moment, will also change by the moment, and ulitmately it will disappear in a moment. Back in the dot.com days I watched many a young enterprise suffer from placing culture ahead of strategy, or worse, even focusing on culture in lieu of strategy. When the marketplace began to see through the spin and the vapor, all the ping-pong tables and funky offices in the world couldn’t save a flawed business model…The fun was over and the culture ceased to exist.

The sad reality is that as in the dot.com example mentioned above, culture run amok can kill companies. Many a company has put so much emphasis on culture that culture simply became their business as opposed to strengthening their business. All the perks and benefits in the world won’t cause a company to thrive if not governed by sound core values, which have been wrapped into a vision that can be strategically and tactically implemented. Business should be fun. The workplace should be comfortable and safe, and time spent on the job  should add value to a person’s life. Culture is important – it is very important. But if culture is developed outside of strategy, if it’s not driven by strategy, then said culture can become a very dangerous intoxicant.

Every vibrant, healthy, inspiring, innovative, and positive corporate culture I’ve witnessed has occurred not because culture has been placed ahead of strategy, but because it has been a key driver of the corporate strategy. Why does everything in today’s world have to be framed within an exclusionary either/or proposition? I’ve consistently found that the best scenarios are the ones that allow you to have your cake and eat it too. Why separate culture from strategy to their mutual demise, when culture is secured, enhanced, and sustained by sound strategy?

My belief is that those who toss around this nice little sound bite are really just attempting to highlight the importance of culture. If they really believe what they’re saying, then how could they possess corporate values, vision, mission, and strategy that doesn’t include culture as a main point of focus?

Bottom line: I’m not sure that the collective body of those who have uttered the mantra of “Culture Trumps Strategy” actually disagree with me on anything other than how we choose to express our views. Therein lies my caution…I’m fearful that people who don’t have the experience or intuition to read between the lines of a short quote, or a 140 character Tweet, might be misled by the simplicity of the appeal. This is why I took the time to author today’s post. In reality, Culture does not Trump Strategy, rather they work together to enhance the success of one another. It’s not really strategy vs. culture, but an aligned strategy and culture that matter. What say you?

  • http://scottgould.me Scott Gould

    Hi Mike

    When I saw the title, I initially disagreed with you! I thought, of course culture trumps strategy – culture is whats informs your strategy.

    But in reading what you’ve said I’m now in the middle ground.

    For a corporate, yes – as you describe – strategy is what sets the culture. The culture is built by design, not by default.

    But in startup mode, culture flows from the personalities of those involved – and out of that, strategy begins to emerge. Soon, strategy informs how this culture will change – but the birthing of the startup was not with strategy, but culture.

    Am I right in this assumption? I certainly know from experience (started my third business last September) that the idea and impetuous started with what was my culture – my thinking, turned into action.

    But I also know that very quickly, my culture changes based on the strategies that my culture first created!

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Scott:

      Thanks for the comment. I would never be so bold as to say your thinking is wrong. However in an attempt to move you the rest of the way, I might be so bold as to ask you to more closely examine your thoughts.:)

      I would challenge that your initial thinking about a start-up can be driven by culture as said culture does not yet exist…I would submit that culture is a definite consideration driven by your values and by the vision your have for your start-up. It is something you're thinking about and planning for, therefore it is part of the overall strategy being developed. To give you a little more perspective into my thinking you might read this: http://www.n2growth.com/blog/leading-above-the-li…

      Does this resonate with you, or am I the one thinking improperly? What say you?

  • http://scottgould.me Scott Gould

    Hi Mike

    Thanks for this – really helps to clarify.

    As a non-advidsor to CEOs there is much I am learning from you!

    I’ve only just learnt recently about effectively breaking down vision -> mission -> objectives -> goals -> strategy -> tactics

    Looking at this, I’d see that culture is at the bottom here – underneath strategy. Where as ‘Values’ and ‘vision’ sit at the top.

    I’d agree with you, now having read your comment, that yes – it was my vision and values that then strategised culture. I am very careful in the small things that I run to ensure culture over and over again, and very methodically decide how to build it. Now I understand that it is my values and vision that drive this culture.

    I think this helps me understand it far better – thanks Mike.

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Scott:

      I'm glad my comments helped to clarify things. My point was never to trivialize the importance of culture as it is a major key to creating sustainable success in any organization.

      My hope was simply to point out that when you understand where culture fits within the overall scheme of things, it makes it easier to frame it, prioritize it, develop it, and protect it.

      Best wishes Scott…

  • http://www.zealeap.com/ Tim Porthouse

    Mike

    Great point!

    Said another way: Great businesses are based on a Culture of Success.

    People want to be part of a winning team. And you need a great strategy to build success.

    I think it's an "AND" not an "OR" statement!

    Cheers!

    Tim

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Tim:

      I agree… Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Have a great weekend Sir.

  • Oarabile

    Hello Mike
    Good blog and i think its the responsibility of every leader or business person to develop corporate culture that suites them and is also morally right and not those that are offensive. great topic once more thanks.

    Oarabile

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Oarabile:

      Thanks for sharing your observations Oarabile. I agree that a corporate culture not built upon a foundation of solid corporate values will not thrive over the long-haul. Thanks again for stopping by.

  • http://www.bristleconelearning.com Betsey Upchurch

    I agree with your points. I work with companies that have strategy for business and are experiencing a lot of pain around their culture. Culture isn't supporting their strategy and they don't know why. It is easy to want to overemphasize the role of culture to get them to pay attention to it. Of course, strategy without a good culture is like pushing a rock up hill. Culture without strategy is just smoke and mirrors. Very little in life is either/or.

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Great points Betsey – Thanks for sharing…

  • Gerardo Dada

    Of course strategy should define culture. In my experience with companies of all sizes (from my own startup to working at two Fortune 100), the problem is that at most companies these are separate discussions. ____Strategy is usually agred to in a board room or an ofsite, usually tied to financial objectives and often limited by the fiscal year scope. Culture is left to the human resouorces department, or just happens as a consequence of the company policies and practices.____After all, culture is defined by the behaviors that are incented and repeated inside your company.____I wrote a post on my experience on this topic a couple months back. Would love your comments_ _http://techmktg.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/the-criticality-of-company-culture/ __

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Gerado:

      You make an astute observation which is that the bifurcation of these two topics in discussion and in practice is the root of most of the misunderstandings. Thanks for the insights Gerado…

  • Perry

    Mike,
    I agree with your post and believe that the issue really lies a bit deeper in that we have become so binary in our thinking that it is always "either or" and you accurately point out that it is both.
    I tend to view many of these types of issues as a continuum and that we move back and forth depending on what is required. Culture and strategy are no different and think that most people tend to want to focus on just one and think that is the silver bullet when there is no such answer.
    In addition, when we work in complex adaptive environments (like an organization), then we have to be able to leverage each and every tool at our disposal in varying degrees to accomplish the objective.
    Thanks for sharing,

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Perry:

      I like your use of viewing things as a continuum. As with most things in life, there is a certain ebb and flow that needs to be understood. Business should not be based upon a rigid set of rules, but rather a keen understanding of how to capitalize on fluidity. Thanks for sharing Perry.

  • sage9

    Hmm – very interesting and thought-provoking – article and responses – but I keep hearing in my mind – does either one have to trump the other? Maybe this is what you are saying – they are collaborative in some nature? I work at the nexus of culture and strategy – proactive and reactive solutions – as I tie personal development and business development to brand – and brand to the DNA (or perhaps culture of an organization.) Still, when we devise plans to maximize the brand or the culture, we also devise strategically to meet double-and triple bottom-line – at least with my clients that is what we most often strive to do. So I am still wondering – does one actually HAVE to trump the other at all? And how much would these issues re reflective of specific organizations versus companies as a whole? I also keep thinking that culture is not always in a silo – or singular – it can also have many “cultures’ within in it that grow out of an initial culture. Some cultures are deliberate – built and crafted carefully by the executive team and often consultants. And yet – mini-cultures creep up any way – - so obviously culture is extremely important. Strategy to build on the strengths of those cultures and strategies implemented to create cultures both can happen inside an organization. Perhaps purpose may be another question – what is the purpose that drives culture or strategy? I cold go on for hours – this is truly an interesting debate. Thanks for posting the article!

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations. My experience is that culture and strategy work best in concert. That said, it has also been my experience that a strategically driven focus on culture creates an advantage, where a culture driven strategy often times results in discord and chaos. Thanks again for stopping by…

      • sage9

        I suppose I am in agreement with you – In fact that is probably what I do when strategically building culture through brand leadership – again –Thanks for this post!

  • Joe Rafter

    Mike – Thanks for this entry. I believe that culture is an output of strategy. Further, culture is the hardest element of a strategy to implement / change due to legacy of what culture exists in a company today. Due to this resistance, I believe that culture CAN trump strategy, to the extend that the strategy and execution thereof are unsuccessful.

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Joe:

      I think I understand what you're communicating, but I'm not necessarily in agreement with your conclusion. If strategy and execution fail how is this a representation of culture trumping strategy? Culture cannot save a company from a bad strategy, but a great strategy does create a sustainable environment in which a great culture can flourish. My guess is that we're not very far apart on what we're trying to communicate, but are falling prey to the perils of the medium. Thanks for sharing Joe…

      • Joe Rafter

        I doubt we are far apart. In my experience, culture is frequently at the center of resistance to a strategy and the required execution. To the extent that the culture is not changed in alignment with the strategy, the strategy can be undermined. Within this context, this phrase really points to the lack of including culture within a strategic context.

  • http://www.centerconsultgroup.com Janet

    I think strategy defines the corporate culture. If a company is to successfully implement their strategy, then they need their employees to be aligned with the strategy, the vision, mission, core values and goals for the entire organization. This alignment is what creates the company culture and then the culture helps support the strategic direction of the company. I agree with Joe- this concept makes great headlines, but in reality having an environment where culture defines strategy does not work.

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Thanks for the comment Janet. As you so eloquently stated "alignment" of values, vision, mission, and strategy are key to creating a healthy culture. You might be interested in the following post which briefly address these thoughts: http://www.n2growth.com/blog/leading-above-the-li…

  • Cynthia

    I agree that strategy and culture are intertwined. In my experience, the vision, mission, values, and goals are the “what,” and the culture is a critical part of the “how” a company executes business results. A company’s culture can be its key differentiator in the marketplace, and if it’s an authentic expression of the vision, mission and values, it can be the difference between good results and great ones. Every company has a culture; it’s how the culture is expressed that gives it personality, which can either be leveraged as a unique attribute in the marketplace, or it can undo stakeholder value. My question is, how does an executive effectively shift the culture and give a company personality that differentiates it in the marketplace?

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Ahh…the million dollar question…How does an executive effectively shift the culture? There are obviously contextually and environmentally specific issues that would apply to any given situation. Setting those aside, it usually boils down to trust and performance. When an organization trusts its leadership good things tend to happen. When a bond of trust is established across the enterprise it makes achieving alignment between the values & vision and the strategy & tactics easier to achieve. If the people within the organization don't trust leadership and don't share the corporate values and vision they will rarely serve as anything other than an impediment to strategy and culture.

  • Phill Barufkin

    Same applies to creativity. There is a time and place when each discipline has to be called upon to advance a problem or an opportunity. However, Cultural marketing simply makes sense.

    Look anywhere and marketing is found: taxis, bathrooms, buses, subways, and, of course, all the typical places. In today’s world of advertising and marketing gluttony, the consumer is exhausted.

    There is barely a space in modern culture that is not carrying a commercial message. So instead of forcing marketing into the culture, why not simply use culture to market to consumers?

    Of course this is rhetorical. I’ve been a practitioner of cultural marketing for more than fifteen years because it makes sense to communicate where consumers work and play and relate on their terms.

    Phill Barufkin is a marketer, strategist, planner and researcher who works with businesses to deploy integrated marketing programs.

    Phill Barufkin

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Make sense as a "strategy" to me :) . Thanks for sharing these thoughts Phil…

  • Hugh D. Snow

    I found your comments interesting. I took the position you were discussing
    organizational culture, which in most if not always is borne by the company
    leader(s) and is more intangible than tangible, and doesn't work well if all
    employees understand it and participates fully. Successful firms must have
    a combination of strategy and culture.
    Prof. Hugh Snow

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      A very professorial comment with which I must concur :) Thanks for sharing such sound and succinct logic. Thanks for stopping by Hugh.

  • Allen Bova

    Interesting post. I agree with your comments. I would say… the right culture can increase the effectiveness and the chance of success of your strategy. The wrong culture can derail your strategy and make it ineffective. Perhaps that is what folks meant by saying that culture ttrumps strategy. To elevate culture further to suggest culture alone is all one needs as you point out is a recipe for business failure. Culture is not a substitute for a a srtategic business plan.

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog/ mikemyatt

      Hi Allen:

      Thanks for your comments. I tend to agree with your thoughts, however the inverse is true as well. A failed strategy will always derail culture, and a successful strategy will likewise enhance culture. I think it's fair to say that one cannot flourish without the other. Thanks again for stopping by Allen.

  • http://www.globoforce.com/blog DerekI, Globoforce

    You're right, Mike. One does not trump the other. But if you can get them to align, therein lies the true power of both. Too often companies focus on one over the other (doesn't matter which). The benefits of culture aligning with strategy are threefold:

    1) The company's most important values and strategic objectives are understood by everyone – in the way the CEO intended.

    2) Individually, employees choose to become more engaged with their work.

    3) Employees become united together behind these commonly understood goals.

    For those who may be interested, I discuss each of these benefits in more detail here: http://www.globoforce.com/blog/?p=416

  • Adiaz

    I think we are dancing around the music rather than within it. Yes if you go under the waterfall you get wet and if you go behind it only spray hits you but you are technically still wet. I believe the message means to me that strategy without culture has no future as there won’t exist the critical mass needed for execution. I would argue that culture is the foundation upon which strategy has the possibility of emerging successful. Again we can strain the boundaries of grammar and definition here but guys the music nevertheless is playing in the same ballroom impervious and blind to where you are standing. My nickel for the jukebox. Cheers Al

    • http://www.n2growth.com/blog Mike Myatt

      Hi Al:

      I agree with you that semantics are definitely in play here, which I acknowledged in my post. Also, as I’ve eluded to above it’s not either or but both. One cannot survive without the other, nor can strategy or culture thrive without being aligned. That said, there is one very real difference…I don’t believe culture is the foundation of strategy, but a key driver – a catalyst of strategy if you will.

      I use the example of start-up enterprise as validation for my position. Culture while paramount to the success of a start-up, doesn’t even exist at the point when strategy is being formulated by the founders. It is a core part of the strategy, a key deliverable/by product of the strategy, but not the foundation. The foundation IS strategy.

      I hope this helps clarify my thinking and thanks for sharing Al.

      • Al Diaz

        thanks for the clarification Mike, I see your point and don’t disagree.Regards, Al

        • http://www.n2growth.com/blog Mike Myatt

          Thanks Al…I’m happy we ended-up on the same page. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

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