Strategy – Culture’s Favorite Breakfast Snack
When Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” he was referring to the general health of an organization.
Drucker’s tenet, however, is equally relevant when taking on digital transformation within an organization.
And it’s often overlooked.
When companies purchase software, they hire Project Managers and Contractors to help implement it.
Maybe the Company brings in a Global System Integrator like Accenture or Deloitte to advise on the Company’s best approach to change.
Their Procurement group pours over the cost and the ROI and haggles to get the best price.
Their PMO (The project management office) reviews the project plan and implementation methodology.
But there never seems to be a Department of Digital Impact.
No one thinks about the one thing that can overshadow the plan – the organizational culture.
That should change.
If you are taking on a new implementation, focus as much on the culture as you do the strategy. However, be careful here; fear of disrupting the culture can also be a hiding place for not implementing change.
It would be best if you had a balance between strategy and culture.
A solid strategy needs to be in place for change to happen.
But the culture needs representation to ensure that the change will be successful.
Too many companies over-emphasize the strategy while overlooking the culture, and it’s a mistake.