Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Culture of Discipline

Those who try to manage change, motivate employees and work to create alignment are negatively correlated with companies that move from good to great. To get a company to top gear – a culture of discipline is critical.

Think about it – a CULTURE of DISCIPLINE. This means that everyone does what they are supposed to without stepping on toes, do what they do best and are diligent about the task at hand. No one has to remind them and they produce excellence for the team. And then you get a team of teams, a culture that pervades the organization. This is what is required for an organization that transforms itself.

I am re-reading this book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins. It’s a classic. I really like books that dwell on evidence and then synthesize that into evidence-based recommendations. I have taken a few of those recommendations and internalized them into traits, I present a few in “Traffic Signals” here.

So here are a few traits of Great companies -

image

Red: Negative Correlation (with Good to Great)

Green: Positive Correlation

Black: No difference.

The culture is an enabler to excellence. It is the HOW.

The 3 circles need to intersect to understand the WHAT.

The hedgehog concept revolves around , in my mind 3 questions

Do you love what you’re doing?

Do you excel at what you’re doing?

Does it pay ?

If the answer is true – the you’re excelling and if its true for the organization – it is poised to be great in the future.

A good pre-read is 7 Habits…because it can link the individual habits of successful individuals to the culture required for greatness in an organization.