Strategy and culture

Strategy and culture are two of the most important tools at the disposal of senior executives in their never-ending drive to ensure the survival and success of their organizations. The strategy of a corporation provides formal reasoning for the aims of the organization and helps to orient individuals around those goals. Culture defines aims via common values and beliefs, and it leads to action through shared assumptions and group norms, all of which are expressed in values and beliefs.

When it comes to collaborative action and decision-making, the strategy gives clarity and concentration. It mobilizes individuals via the use of plans and sets of options, and it may frequently be reinforced through the use of both physical incentives for attaining objectives and negative consequences for failing to do so. In an ideal world, it would also include adaptive features that can scan and evaluate the external environment and detect when modifications are necessary in order to sustain continuity and development. Leadership and strategy formulation work hand in hand and the majority of leaders are familiar with the principles. Culture, on the other hand, is a more difficult lever to manipulate since so much of it is based on unspoken habits, attitudes, and social patterns.

Reference:  Boris Groysberg, Jeremiah Lee, Jesse Price and J. Yo-Jud Cheng – How to manage the eight critical elements of organizational life (Harvard Business Review – January–February 2018)