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The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance
book

The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance

by James Heskett
August 2011
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
384 pages
9h 38m
English
Pearson
Content preview from The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance

3. Culture: A Multi-edged Sword

Clarence Darrow, paraphrasing Charles Darwin, once said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”1 The same is true for organization cultures.

Strong cultures contribute to superior performance—until they don’t. Pride in the organization is constructive until it turns into arrogance toward customers and others outside the organization. Carefully hiring people who “fit in” and subscribe to a common set of values is great until it suppresses the diversity of backgrounds and ideas necessary for an organization’s capability to adapt to changes in the environment. You might wonder why anyone would allow this to happen.

Strong cultures relate ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780132779821Purchase book