We all have our views and opinions on what an organization's culture is and should be. And then there are those who care about it and those who think culture and all it's buzz is %#^*. Then there exists an industry to service the fears, inhibitions, conditioning and in some cases, real noble intent of culture believers. This industry provides tools and processes and frameworks for culture. To build, measure or transform culture. Ok, so what?
Here's a take. The only real, sustainable, tangible, meaningful culture for any organization is founded on the premise that people come together with a single purpose of doing things to solve others problems. That culture is driven intrinsically by a motive of creating value - that solves a problem, makes lives better, enables and empowers people to do better.
And this can be achieved by living that sense of purpose. By ensuring everything about an organization from its vision, strategy, business model, operating model, KPIs and job descriptions and the endless list of need to have stuff are all continually viewed in light of what and whose problem is this going to solve?
Everything else is inconsequential, good to have but not essential. Paranoid delusions about grandeur, through all the noise about culture, but nothing real - nothing that solves problems.
