I once had a not so unique client that had an obsession.  In this case, it was all about “being number one”.   For all intents and purposes, this was their culture of leadership in the here and now.  To all the members of the executive team, this obsession became a mantra. Sounds like a pretty good obsession to have!  The problem was the term “number one” fundamentally meant different things to all the key players:.  finance – profitability, marketing – market share, research – patents, engineering – innovation, sales – volume, and so on. Continue Reading »

Pearl Buck was a Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning author. Her early twentieth century classic, The Good Earth, is about Chinese culture and personal values.  It is a timeless story about the importance of family, and the conflict between personal hierarchy of values and traditional cultural norms, when confronted with a changing world order.  The story has great relevance today.  It has the ability to transport the reader into a bygone world where people visibly change, yet fundamentally remain the same. Continue Reading »

Culture is impacted greatly by the history, folklore, and values we inherit and are exposed to over a lifetime. They are constantly influenced by changing circumstances, but change very slowly. This is true for businesses as well as personal social networks. Continue Reading »