In Business, Culture is Your Lethal Weapon.

Be honest with yourself, Mr. CEO. Do you know how to change your culture?

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Culture will finish your journey.

It is either good or bad. With culture, there is no middle ground.

How did I build a great culture?

“When a great leader’s work is done, the people say, “We did it ourselves”. (Lao Tzu)

You must convince “the people” to own the culture with you because you can’t do it alone.

Step 1. Listen

For the first year as the new CEO, I wandered around the offices where “the people” worked closest to the customer.

I traveled overseas to meet all of them. Some didn’t speak English, but I listened anyway.

I gave them the stage from the beginning. Very few leaders have the guts to let “the people” lead.

Let them dictate the subject of the conversations. Sure, I asked questions that would help guide them to the critical topics if necessary.

Why didn’t you listen to the global leadership team?

I did. I heard them out.

But I quickly knew who was in it for themselves & who was in it for the business to be successful and…