Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
Is it time for a cultural revolution inside your firm?
I am very privileged. I get the chance to meet, talk with and work with some of the most inspired and successful CPA firm leaders and some of the most troubled and struggling CPA firm leaders; all of whom are quality individuals of high integrity but are citizens of two very different cultures.
Firm culture can be described as a blend of the values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals and myths that your firm has developed over time.
What if your firm’s culture could accurately be described in the following way?
“Everyone Cares About Everything.”
What if you had to change your firm’s culture? You might learn something from Lou Gerstner’s huge challenge when he took over IBM.
“If I could have chosen not to tackle the IBM culture head-on, I probably wouldn’t have. My bias coming in was toward strategy, analysis and measurement. In comparison, changing the attitude and behaviors of hundreds of thousands of people is very, very hard. [Yet] I came to see in my time at IBM that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game—it is the game.” —Lou Gerstner
To drive this change, IBM began rewarding teamwork and essentially put an end to consensus building. Gerstner learned, though, that it wasn’t enough–”People don’t do what you expect but what you inspect,” he says–and therefore created a new way to measure results. Employees needed to know that their competitors were outside of IBM, not across the hall. Secondly, there would be no more “obsessive perfectionism” and “studying things to death.” In the new IBM, people would be rewarded for getting things done fast.
Many firms I talk with are beginning to tackle the major task of rebranding their firms. That’s a perfect time to revolutionize your culture. What are your stories, what are your myths, what are your beliefs and values?
Before you begin, you might read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Perhaps these four agreements could guide you.
The Four Agreements
1. Be Impeccable with your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.
- "A culture of discipline is not a principle of business; it is a principle of greatness."
