Business & Strategy

How to align business strategy with company culture

leoconti's Business & Strategy — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 06:36:36 +0900

Intro

Organizational culture is the set of shared values and practices that shape how things are done at a company. It shapes the company's implicit decision-making and influences individual execution.

In this article, we'll discuss how to customize your company's culture based on the four pillars of business strategy formulation and execution: vision, market, employees, and business model.

The four elements of the strategy are matched with each element of company culture as follows.

1. Vision - consistency with the vision
2. Market - flexibility to market changes
3. People - leveraging the expertise of each employee
4. Business model - reinforcement of core values

It's important to note that these corporate culture elements are not meant to be equal. However, depending on the company's situation, certain elements may have the edge over others.

1. Consistency with the vision

Consistency in vision is the first element in aligning your business strategy with your company culture. Your company's vision should reflect your culture and be clear to everyone. A consistent vision allows each member to understand what the company stands for and is trying to achieve. This can lead to increased motivation, better decision-making, and improved performance.

For example, if you're a company that actively utilizes M&A for short-term, focused growth, you must maintain an open culture that allows different members to fit together.

2. Flexibility to market changes

The second factor in aligning business strategy with company culture is market flexibility. Your company culture should be able to adapt to changes in market and industry trends. For example, if you're a technology company, you should be able to adapt to technological changes and consumer preferences.

To ensure market flexibility, you should constantly monitor market trends and ensure that information from the market can be disseminated within your organization at any time. You should change your business strategy accordingly. Most companies are market-oriented in their smaller organizations but tend to move away from the market as they grow. To counteract this, there are many examples of organizations becoming independent.

Case: Will Barnes & Noble's Next Chapter Be Its Last? (Forbes)

3. Individualized expertise

The third element of aligning business strategy with company culture is professionalism. Your culture should emphasize the professionalism of its members in all aspects of their work. This will help your company maintain a high level of performance.

When you trust the expertise of individuals and build an organizational culture based on it, it's called a horizontal organization.

Case: Google's Plan for the Future of Work: Privacy Robots and Balloon Walls (The New York Times)

4. Core values of the business model

The fourth and final element of aligning your business strategy with your culture is the core values that support your business model's core activities/assets. Your organizational culture should be rooted in your core values. For example, if collaboration with external parties is a core activity of your business model, you should have a corporate culture that supports this activity; if your R&D capabilities are a core asset, you can put in place several devices to maximize the creativity of your employees.

Case: Google's Secrets Of Innovation: Empowering Its Employees (Forbes)

Conclusion

In conclusion, aligning your business strategy with your company culture is essential for success. By focusing on consistency in vision, flexibility in response to market changes, individual employee expertise, and the core values of your business model, you can build a solid organizational culture that drives performance, innovation, and growth.

To have leadership, you need your first follower.

leoconti's Business & Strategy — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 08:03:45 +0900

How movements start

Why do some geeks go on to become incredible leaders like Steve Jobs, and other geeks turn out to be bad personalities that people point fingers at?

To understand this, let's take a quick look at how a movement gets started. First, take a look at Derek Seaver's 3-minute video. Here, we first see a geek, followed by one first follower who sympathizes with the geek's behavior, and then a few second followers who follow the geek.

The leader's behavior, which initially seems like an act of "bullying," suddenly becomes a "bandwagon" that forms a group, and others rush to join it before it's too late. So, isn't this how we might define leadership? Getting people to embrace following a leader emotionally - that's leadership.

Of course, Derek Siver argues that leadership is overrated and emphasizes the importance of the first follower. But I don't think the role of the leader, the person who is willing to be a geek in the first place, can be ignored.

How can you have leadership?

1. Causes and methods of leadership

There are many ways to have leadership. For example, a company's CEO oversees his employees under his position alone. In Korea, the owner of a company often has solid leadership. In addition, there are cases where a person has leadership just by having expertise in a particular field or having an energetic personality.

In this article, we're not going to look at what causes this kind of leadership but rather how it happens and what processes are required to make it happen. The answer is in Derek Siver's TED video above.

2. Two steps to leadership

<Step 1> Take something compelling that someone cares about and show it to them,
<Step 2> Find the first followers to spread the word about it.

Most people are only concerned with <Step 1> - finding their appeal. For example, the head of a company thinks they need to show warmth and respect for their employees, and they want to cultivate their insights to help shape the company's future. Of course, that's important.

But it's not likely to translate into leadership if you don't take <Step 2>: find your first followers. These first followers aren't just people who follow you. They're people who are moved by your talent and are willing to spread the word about it.

For Steve Jobs, that would have been John Sculley, also the CEO of Pepsi. Steve Jobs is famously quoted as saying, "Do you want to waste the rest of your life selling sugar water, or do you want to change the world with me?" and John Sculley was inspired to move to Apple.

Who can be a geek's first follower?

When a geek with great talent or idea wants to take leadership, they must find a "first follower." But you can't just go looking for your first follower blindly. There are many criteria, but let's start with "personality." So what kind of person is more likely to be Steve Jobs' John Sculley or the first follower in the video above?

1. Different types of personalities

We all have different types of personalities around us. Some friends are full of ideas and geek out when they're not working, others think about work all day and only network around work, and others are great at picking up on what their bosses are looking for and adapting to it, while still others are competitive and well-spoken.

It's not that these types of friends can't be your first followers, but they're a little less personable. Friends who are full of ideas are often only interested in the ideas themselves and are not good at networking; they are often too proud to admit that someone else is better than they are, and while they may be more aggressive when it comes to survival, they are usually very conservative in their assessment of new ideas.

2. Personalities that favor being the first follower

Some personalities enjoy meeting people. They love going to drinks or get-togethers with their friends and dominating conversations at those events. They already belong to several groups that they feel are right for them and have a presence within them. Geeks must impress these friends with their personalities and turn them into their first followers.

These first followers then go around telling people in their circles that "this geek they found is great," and people who hear that the geek is great to think that the geek is great, and they become followers.

Socialize with people you don't get along with

The reality is that you don't meet people you want to meet. Startup founders meet a lot of different personality types as they build their startups and scale their businesses. Still, we tend to associate with people whose personalities match our own subconsciously. While that's a natural way to build friendships, it's not the way to go when building a business and trying to lead yourself.

What are some negative qualities of the right personality to be your first follower?
(1) Relationships: If you have a girlfriend/boyfriend, you're more likely to be the type of person who likes to meet up with friends.
(2) Social life: They are easy to get along with but can be authoritarian sometimes, so they check people's ages when they meet them. They quickly forget most problems and value group-based values such as "justice" and "friendship." They are not good at creating reports, so they often cause harm to others, but they can solve problems by talking to their bosses.

Taking leadership and growing a business can be difficult if you only surround yourself with people you're comfortable talking to. Sometimes, there are people you don't think are a good personality match for you, but you still need to bring them into your organization or maintain a friendship with them outside of work. That's what we're talking about when discussing "first followers." How you find and leverage those people is up to you as a founder.

Now wait a minute, how exactly do you get the type of friends who like to meet people on your side? Of course, there's no absolute answer to this, but there's a lot of research in psychology already. We'll talk about that next time we have a chance.

Supporting Laid-Off Workers: Strategies for Employers

leoconti's Business & Strategy — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 04:00:05 +0900

General Motors to Offer Voluntary Buyouts

The US job market has seen many layoffs recently, with Twitter and General Motors being among the companies that have had to let go of employees.

GM employees are ‘strongly encouraged to consider its voluntary separation program.
General Motors to Offer Voluntary Buyouts

Layoffs can be a challenging experience for affected employees, causing psychological distress, financial insecurity, and even long-term health consequences. Therefore, developing a plan to provide psychological support for these workers is crucial.

Things to prepare for laid-offs

First and foremost, providing access to mental health services is essential. Employers can offer employees various services, including counseling, therapy, and support groups. While some workers may have health insurance that covers these services, others may not, and employers can offer financial assistance or coverage to ensure all employees have access to support. Companies can also partner with local mental health providers to offer discounted or free services to employees.

It is also important to provide emotional support to laid-off workers. Companies can establish employee support groups that connect laid-off workers and provide a safe space to share their experiences, feelings, and concerns. Such groups can help workers feel less isolated, provide emotional validation, and facilitate a sense of community. Companies can also encourage managers to communicate with laid-off workers and offer support during the transition.

Another practical approach is to offer career transition support. This can include job search resources, resume and interview coaching, and job placement assistance. In addition, companies can partner with job placement agencies to help connect laid-off workers with new opportunities. Offering these services can help workers feel more hopeful about their future and provide a sense of purpose during a difficult time.

It is also essential to ensure that the plan addresses the specific needs of laid-off workers. For example, workers who have been with a company for a long time may require additional support to transition to a new job, while younger workers may need help building their professional networks. Providing personalized support can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of the plan.

Conclusion

In summary, the recent wave of layoffs in the US has left many workers uncertain, stressed, and overwhelmed. Companies can help mitigate the psychological impact of releases by providing mental health services, emotional support, career transition support, and personalized assistance. In addition, companies can help ensure laid-off workers feel valued and supported during challenging times by offering these services.