For
a number of years now, strategy and culture debates have made the rounds,
deliberating over which one eats which for breakfast. For us, it’s not a matter of which one is on the menu
for the other to devour. We posit that strategy and culture are not only
inescapably linked, but intertwined in a symbiotic relationship. Throughout the lifetime of an
organization, one may take precedent over another, but for an organization to
build and sustain success, it (to quote Old Blue Eyes) “can’t have one without
the other”[1].
The
process of engaging and cultivating belief is a critical component of a
successful strategy – otherwise, odds are the strategy will fail (research
indicates 65% to 90%). In other
words, if an organization is not strategic in its cultural development, the
disengaged culture will more than likely derail the strategy before it’s even
left the station. There is little
doubt that strategy will not be fully and effectively implemented unless
culture empowers it. That being
said, without strategy, culture may find itself in the station indefinitely, lacking
the ability to mobilize.
Imagine
if Apple had a developed a culture committed to changing the world through
technological innovation and design, but had no strategy outlining how to
develop, produce and market its ideas.
Or imagine if Lululemon developed a strategy to create high quality yoga
wear but lacked the culture that engaged staff and customers with such passion
for its brand. It is a reasonably safe bet that without a symbiotic
relationship between strategy and culture, neither company would have become
the juggernauts that they are.
So
does “culture eat strategy for breakfast”[2]? Sure, why not… but let’s shift the
perspective a little. Culture needs its strategy breakfast because without it,
it wouldn’t be able to mobilize and would eventually fade away. Conversely, that strategic breakfast needs
to be consumed by culture otherwise it would just sit there, unused and wasted,
serving no purpose.
With
that point of view in mind, we recommend that culture sit down to a breakfast
of strategy on a regular basis to ensure the exceptional results that come from
a healthy symbiotic strategy / culture relationship.
Frank
may have been singing about love and marriage, but at our breakfast table, it’s
more about strategy and culture.
