Weekly Management Tips
Words of wisdom for this week.
“Every man takes the limit of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.”
~ Arthur Schopenhauer
What do I mean by ‘who’ or ‘what’ in your organization? Corporate culture is one of the significant driving factors that contributes to and determines an organization’s success, profitability and position in the market place. Corporate culture is the heartbeat of any enterprise. It is:
- how people behave when no one is watching
- the rites, rituals and unwritten rules of a company
- the driving philosophy of a department
- the predominant underlying reason for why people do what they do and behave the way they behave
- how people treat each other day in and day out
- …and so much more.
One of the consequences of culture is: who delivers a message, or who says it and how vs. what the message is. Let me explain.
A new employee walks into the VP’s office questioning a procedure. The gist of his/her remark is that it doesn’t make sense and is costing the company time, resources, etc. The VP’s response goes something like, “You are new here, later you will better understand what we do and why this procedure will make sense, but thanks for your opinion.”
The next day the president walks into the same VP’s office questioning the same procedure, and the VP agrees and jumps on a solution for making a change.
The above example is a clear-cut case of – it depends on who is delivering the message that determines the other person’s response. In an organization where it is ‘what’s the message and not “who” is delivering it,’ it wouldn’t matter who was delivering the message, i.e. the janitor, a new employee or a V.P. The response would be the same – let’s look at it, fix it, change it or – whatever – but let’s take some action on it.
The problem with a ‘who’ culture is that politics and personal agendas can tend to take the lead. In a ‘what’ culture, it is the problem or challenge and ultimate solution that matters, and not the source of the information.
Is your organization or department operating in a ‘who’ or ‘what’ environment?