Practical examples of values-based corporate culture transformations

1. CULTURE-VALUES LINK
A PRACTICAL APPROACH
Adam Filler,
com-towers
Zurich
March 2014

2. ORGANIZATIONS DO NOT CHANGE:
PEOPLE CHANGE
 “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” ~ attributed to Peter
Drucker
 “The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create
and manage culture. If you do not manage culture, it manages
you, and you may not even be aware of the extent to which this
is happening.” - Edgar Schein, professor MIT Sloan School of
Management
 “The thing I have learned at IBM is that culture is everything.” Lou Gerstner, Former CEO of IBM
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3. CULTURAL CHANGE AND VALUES
 Organizational culture:
 The way things are done around here, or
 What we do, when we think no one is looking
 Values:
 Important and lasting beliefs shared by the members of a culture
about what is good or bad, desirable or undesirable
 Have major influence on a person’s behavior and attitude
 Common business values: fairness, innovations, social responsibility
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4. VALUES – BEHAVIOR LINK CASE STUDIES
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5. com-towers GmbH confidential
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6. 2 VIEWS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL
CHANGE
Organizational
Personal
A process of
implementing changes
across organizations
Requires:
A process of adjustment
to changed conditions,
adoption of new
behaviors
Requires:
 Clear strategic imperatives
 Top leadership support,
 Project management
structure,
 Decisions on structural,
personnel and cultural
issues
 Clarity of why change
needs to happen
 Understanding of personal
attitude to change
 Commitment to personal
behavioral roadmap
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7. A survey diagnostic - The Denison
Organizational Culture Model
Denison
Organizational
Culture survey
A diagnostic tool
linking corporate
culture to key
business drivers
BENCHMARKS
against an extensive
database of
companies across
geographies and
industries

8. M&A scenario:
2 companies– Value Statements
COMMITTED
OPEN
DOER
We are committed to success and growth, we belong to a successful Russian
company
We are committed to a XXXX way of doing things, we have joined XXXX to be part
of an internationally successful company
We are open to providing information and to accepting different ways of doing
things, we focus on the result and task at hand
We are open to ideas, dialogue and cooperation . We don’t want to go “back to
the USSR”
Once the task is clear, we are responsible for getting the job done quickly and
efficiently. We try things and make quick decisions.
We are creative, flexible, we work hard and have fun doing it
ENGAGED
Decisions are made and communicated from the top, people are challenged to
find ways to get the work done
We are people and team oriented, we interact with one another and focus on
the future

9. Vision х Culture =
FROM the Innovation idea
“We must create a culture to support innovation”
Vision of the
future
Corporate
culture survey
for all
employees
Employee
focus groups
Upgrade the culture to live our values:
Add value
Show respect
Make it happen
Management
workshops and
validation

10. Our Values
Our Behavior
• Responsibility
• Innovation
• Cooperation
• Excellence
Based on the market
changes and our
strategic choices we
need to focus on
certain behaviours to
be able to perform
and execute results
in this changing
environment
Our values form the long-term
foundation for what be believe
is right and wrong
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11. SO WHAT?
Every organizational change requires evolution of
culture
Culture is measurable, and it can evolve in the right
direction
Values provide the starting point, living the values is
key to culture change
Organizations do not change, people change
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