Culture Is the Way

CHAPTER 11Commercial Execution

I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.

—Wayne Gretzky, Hall of Fame hockey player

Peter F. Drucker, a well‐known business management author and thinker, once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Well, yes, to some extent, I agree. There is power and significance in this quote. In contrast, I also respectfully disagree. I agree that if a company consistently devotes more time and effort to strategy while ignoring culture, the results will be minimal. I disagree because it can easily send the message that strategy is unimportant and reinforces the false narrative that leaders will be successful if they focus solely on culture while ignoring everything else.

This may come as a surprise, given the book's sole focus on culture and its importance. For many years, I used that quote in nearly all my keynote speeches, and to some extent, I still do. However, I'm more cautious about how I phrase it now because there have been too many examples of it sending the wrong message to leaders. “This isn't to diminish or minimize the importance of strategy, but when it comes to level of prioritization, culture is king because it determines how well you execute and bring your strategy to life,” I always add when I use that quote today.

Although I am sure that not every leader interprets the quote in that way, one of the most common difficulties that leaders face when developing culture is its inability to drive commercial execution. ...