Creating Culture Change

Read this resource for tips on how to create culture change. Leaders must be prepared to lead people through cultural changes when necessary. An example of when this would be necessary is when companies merge or acquire another company. This text examines the process of cultural change related to the people involved, including teaching employees the new norms through training and changing the reward system.

Creating a Sense of Urgency

In order for the change effort to be successful, it is important to communicate the need for change to employees. One way of doing this is to create a sense of urgency on the part of employees and explain to them why changing the fundamental way in which business is done is so important. In successful culture change efforts, leaders communicate with employees and present a case for culture change as the essential element that will lead the company to eventual success. As an example, consider the situation at IBM Corporation in 1993 when Lou Gerstner was brought in as CEO and chairman. After decades of dominating the market for mainframe computers, IBM was rapidly losing market share to competitors, and its efforts to sell personal computers - the original "PC" - were seriously undercut by cheaper "clones". In the public's estimation, the name IBM had become associated with obsolescence. Gerstner recalls that the crisis IBM was facing became his ally in changing the organization's culture. Instead of spreading optimism about the company's future, he used the crisis at every opportunity to get buy-in from employees.