Instilling a Corporate Culture

I am always amazed when I read stories about corporate culture and how successful some company executives are in instilling these values in all facilities.  And the results of when they do not.  How often have you heard "culture eats strategy for breakfast"?  It is very true. According to Globoforce Blog, six mergers were destroyed by the inability to combine company cultures. You know a couple of the more recent ones.  Examples are AOL/Time Warner and HP/Compaq.

Frankly, I think it is a very difficult challenge. How do you transfer a culture from one or two stores to dozens or even hundreds?  Publix is an example of one that did it right.  This appeared in Fortune magazine.

http://fortune.com/publix-best-companies/

Shock

I read a lot of business publications.  Most of the time I am not surprised by what I read. This one shocked me. Seldom have I read an article that at the end of almost every paragraph, I shook my head in disbelief.

This appeared in Fortune magazine under the title of “Hoaxwagon:  How the massive diesel fraud incinerated VW’s reputation – and will hobble the company for years to come.”  I know it is old, but I just reread it.

The hoax and lies were so ingrained and went on for so long.  It is hard to believe how it all unraveled. And now, we watch Volkswagen recover and reset.  This will be worth several detailed stories.

http://fortune.com/inside-volkswagen-emissions-scandal/