Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company

CHAPTER 1

DOES CULTURE PREDICT PERFORMANCE?

Silicon Valley has always inspired me. So many innovative companies, interesting people, smart ideas. I get energized every time I’m there.

I shouldn’t say every time. On this day in late September 2009, I was not feeling particularly energetic. As I cruised down Highway 101 to Palo Alto, I was actually feeling quite nervous. My company, which I had co-founded just a couple of years earlier and went by the somewhat ominous name of the Institute of Corporate Productivity, was in trouble. Sales had nosedived, and as CEO I had to make the gut-wrenching decision to lay off several employees, including underperforming salespeople. I was in town to try to drum up new enterprise clients because, well, I ...