When asked to create a plan to change a company’s culture in just four months, I often feel both concerned and doubtful.
It raises the question: Do we truly understand what culture means? I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard phrases like “there’s no culture here” or “it’s a culture problem,” as if it were an intangible force, separate from us.
I recall facing my first challenge of guiding a company through cultural transformation toward innovation. I asked myself the same: What do we mean by culture? Beyond a singular definition, it’s crucial to share a common concept when embarking on the journey to build or change culture.
UNESCO defines culture as “the set of distinctive, spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features that characterize a society or social group, encompassing arts, lifestyles, fundamental human rights, value systems, traditions, and beliefs.”
Distinctive traits… shared beliefs, habits, behaviors. These are things we do almost automatically. So, if I asked you to close your eyes and visualize your environment (your company, workplace, team), imagining a culture of innovation, what would you see? How would people act? What would happen? What would be different from today? How would each of you be in your daily life?
While individual perceptions of a culture of innovation might vary, elements that identify an innovative company include: a focus on innovation strategy, deep consumer insight, co-creation capabilities, and outstanding talent. Yet, beyond these individual components, it’s the company culture that fosters innovation: the mindset, emotions, actions, and beliefs driving behaviors and decisions.
The saying “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” underscores the critical role culture plays in a company’s performance.
A particularly useful framework for understanding how to align various elements that contribute to an innovation culture is proposed by Professor Rao (Rao & Chuán, 2013). His model includes both rational and emotional components, organized into six blocks, 18 factors, and 54 elements. Here are the six blocks and their 18 factors:
Rational Factors
- Resources: People, Systems, Projects
- Processes: Ideation, Co-creation, Realization
- Results: External, Corporate, Individual
Emotional Factors
- Values: Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Learning
- Behavior: Drive, Commitment, Facilitation
- Climate: Collaboration, Trust, Simplicity
In my experience, effectively aligning cultural construction with an organizational change model involves concrete actions across four key areas:
- Purpose: Organizational and Personal
- Leadership and Role Modeling
- Processes and Structures
- Skills and Knowledge
Does it require effort? Yes, because building a culture of innovation happens by design, not by accident.
Is it impossible? No.
Finally, I’d ask, do you believe this can happen in just four months?
References:
Rao, J., & Chuán, F. (2013). The Discipline and Culture of Innovation.
