My Homepage

"If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn't thinking." (George Patton, World War II General)

This quote by George Patton makes several significant points about the workforce of the 2000s. Whereas people are currently recognized as an
organization's most valued asset, they are not yet effectively integrated into organizational life. A recent BusinessWeek (Sept. 4, 2006) article
on the Dark Days at Dell quotes Geoffrey A. Moore: "Dell's culture is not inspirational or aspirational.....This is when they need to be
imaginative, but [Dell's] culture only wants to talk about execution." Richard Snyder, a Dell alum, further states, "They (disaffected workers)
don't feel they're a part of something at Dell, and they generally leave because they feel frustrated."

Organizational leaders have many unique challenges in the 21st century. These include some significant changes to the business environment,
such as the vast availability of information and communication capabilities, the prevailing rate and constancy of change, and the independent
thinking and decision-making capabilities of today's emerging workforce. The workforce is key to this discussion since people are the critical
factor in sustaining an organization. Further, if one thinks of these challenges as catalysts for change and innovation, they can be maximized to
create a sustainable environment for the organization. It makes sense for the leaders of an organization to recognize them for that potential
value and expect the workforce to do the same.

It is essential, then, to develop a culture that will help members understand, integrate, and maximize these opportunities to innovate from their
independent perspectives and contributions to the organization. A culture that is collaborative and integrated in its thinking values all
members as leaders in their respective areas of focus. Each member is responsible for setting relevant goals and accountable for results. Dell's
plight would be very different if all members were engaged in contributing their diverse expertise to determine and pursue a common strategic
direction. It is the leaders' role to create a culture to ensure that the organization benefits from all of these members' expertise as they build
sustainability for Dell.

Culture is the common set of beliefs, values, experiences, information, and background of a group. It is set by the leader, includes industry and
customer requirements, and is sustained by all members of the organization. This culture reinforces and rewards relevant work towards group
goals. It is specific to an organization and could be considered the internal brand of the organization that supports its external brand in the
market. Dell's culture does not seem to maximize the value of its most important asset - its people.

A culture is most effectively developed in two phases. In Phase I leaders create the environment that will define and allow the culture to thrive.
Steps in this process include defining the common beliefs and values by which the organization will work and then developing a sense of
community around those beliefs and values. Consensus is reached on the beliefs and values by which members will work and then an
organizational workflow and position contracts are defined.

Phase II focuses on the development of a learning organization to support and sustain the culture. A learning organization is one in which
several elements and structures support the collaborative and integrated thinking that is necessary for continuous learning in a culture-based
organization. These components include strategy, direction, goal sharing, performance planning and metrics, innovation guilds, in which
customer and employees work together to define the future with next generation products, and rewards for setting and reaching objectives and
goals that are aligned to those of the organization. Other components might include culture-based social structures and technology
infrastructure needed to connect all members to each other and to the common direction.

When a culture must be restructured to be collaborative and integrated in its thinking, it is important to spend significant time in Phase 1 so
that readiness for the change is solid. Old ways of working must be definitively ended, and the new ways of working must be embraced.

The underlying premise here is that the culture-based company has recognized and maximized the value of all its members. As engaged and
empowered decision-makers, they have been enabled to set and meet realistic objectives and goals that meet customer and owner needs. They
are considered to be critical components of the organization. They are self-directed, managed, disciplined, and are rewarded accordingly. The
alignment of peoples' expertise, their needs, and those of the organization is an undeniable and certain key to success. It is a leader's
responsibility to create a culture-based environment that maximizes this alignment.

Sir Isaac Newton once commented, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." He makes a good point.