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

5. Economics of Culture: The “Four Rs”

Here’s a familiar scenario. A CEO returns from a meeting of a board on which he sits, attends a seminar, or reads an article about the latest companies selected as the “best places to work.” At his next board meeting, the CEO informs the board that efforts will be instituted to achieve a new goal: best place to work. The board members nod approvingly, and the meeting proceeds. There’s only one problem. There is no periodic report of progress toward the goal. Board members forget to ask whatever happened to the initiative, even as year after year goes by and the company’s name doesn’t appear on any “best places to work” lists. Performance is up and down, and the board and management are preoccupied with making ...