Navigating Workplace Revolution: Culture as a Strategic Advantage (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hi there and welcome to Corporate Culture Prose. Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm Lisa Jackson, CEO and co-founder. Stick around to listen to my partner Gary and I talk about the massive forces behind workplace revolution and the future of work. We live in a time of unprecedented rapid change. We have digital transformation, a top concern of CEOs and leaders, not just for companies in the technology industry, but every aspect of the work experience, the business model is changing and shifting due to automation. You have four generations in the workplace, so huge differences in core values of the older generations versus the younger generations that they even want out of work. That's led to a shift in the psychological contract of work itself, how work is done, where it's done, with whom it's done, and the expectation on the part of employees of it being more of a two-way street. That I get something out of it rather than just a paycheck. All of these dynamics mean that it has never been more important to differentiate yourself clearly from competitors in the marketplace. That's part of the power of culture, is winning over not only customers and brand loyalty, but also creating talent on the inside that can deliver that experience to your customers.

Speaker 2: In numerous studies, we hear that leaders cite culture as the number one barrier to them achieving their business strategy. Culture is a business strategy, not a feel-good morality. Some people seem to think culture isn't something you change because you want to change the culture, do it for its own sake. Rather, changing or improving culture is specifically to better enable your mission and your strategy. With this rapid change that you've described, the reason people are being forced and more proactive ones are desiring the change, is so they can compete faster. Because the speed is just making the old ways of the old culture no longer relevant. The good news for someone who's contemplating a major change or even an improvement in culture is that the research is very clear that culture pays big dividends. In probably the most cited study done by Cotter and Haskett, that covered 200 companies over an 11-year period, where they identified two different kinds of culture, high-performing versus not high-performing. In the high-performing ones over those 11 years, net revenue was a level of 756 percent compared to 1 percent. Stock price growth was 901 percent over 11 years compared to 76 percent.

Speaker 1: Just from the ability to adapt more quickly, which is amazing. If you're facing culture change, whether through a new CEO or a merger, or you just want to attract and retain the best talent, sign up here on our website. We'll send you monthly tips and tools on how to lead in the workplace revolution.