Culture Is the Way

CHAPTER 8The Culture Implementation Playbook

Culture does not change because we desire to change it. Culture changes when the organization is transformed; the culture reflects the realities of people working together every day.

—Frances Hasselbein, former CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA

“Hi, Matt. Thank you for your talk today. Would you mind signing your book for me?” The young lady looked like she was in her late thirties or early forties, with shoulder‐length brown hair, wearing a casual jacket with slacks. By all appearances, she was professional and driven, and yet she frowned, as if something was bothering her.

“Sure, I'll be happy to sign it. Did you enjoy my talk?” I smiled big, expecting to hear a few takeaways she got from my talk.

“Mmm … uh … sure.” She flipped her hair back off her shoulders and half‐smiled. But her brows were furrowed, and I wondered if something was wrong. Maybe I missed the mark with my talk.

Pen in hand, I fidgeted behind a table piled high with a stack of my books, Winning Plays: Tackling Adversity and Achieving Success in Business and Life, published in 2016.

I had been standing there for a solid 20 minutes, greeting people who had attended my keynote at a large convention, comprised of several different Fortune 500 leaders. A good part of my talk was focused on how sports and leaders in business are similar when it comes to building culture, and how leaders could excel if they incorporated a playbook like sports coaches do.

“Uh … so, you ...