In recent years, the importance of organizational culture has gained prominence on the corporate scene. However, many companies still treat culture as a superficial tool, focusing on advertising and aesthetic actions rather than incorporating it deeply into their business strategy. 

The Gap Between Intention and Action

Over the last 10 years developing cultural projects, I've often come across the following situation: requests to create cute, publicistic texts for manifestos, values and cultural behaviors in order to ride the wave of some current issue.

When I presented the fact that a cultural project goes through a thorough business analysis, I was immediately shocked to find out that the project would not be approved or that it would be difficult to get off the ground.

This gap between intention and action is a direct consequence of the lack of connection between organizational culture and company strategy. This is when culture is treated merely as a superficial tool to entertain and distract employees.

Culture needs to stop being a pretty wall and become the foundation of the organization. CEOs and leaders who understand this are the ones whose business results are light years ahead of the competition. After all, there are no arguments against facts:

- McKinsey found that companies with healthy cultures perform financially up to 3x better than those with weak cultures.

- Gallup has shown that companies with highly engaged employees outperform those with low engagement in productivity by up to 21%.

- Harvard found that organizational culture is responsible for up to 30% of a company's success.

Fundamental Elements for a Solid Organizational Culture

Amy Leschke-Kahle, in her article for the MIT Sloan School of Management, emphasizes that culture is a complex "living organism" that requires four fundamental elements to be strong and unified:

1. Unique: Each organization has a unique culture that cannot be replicated. While it is valid to take inspiration from successful companies, it is crucial to recognize that each culture is different and specific. A meaningful culture must be authentic and reflect the uniqueness of the organization.
2. Understandable: As descrições da cultura devem ser extremamente claras e fáceis de entender. Se é necessário uma explicação detalhada para que alguém compreenda a cultura, há um problema. A simplicidade é fundamental.
3. Legitimate: Actions must speak louder than words. If a company's culture appears to be conditional and dependent on specific circumstances, it is not authentic. The legitimacy of culture comes from the consistency between discourse and practice.
4. Consistent: Culture must be a non-negotiable commitment on the part of the leadership, which must support it on a daily basis in all areas. This prevents different teams within the same organization from experiencing the culture in divergent ways.

Transforming organizational culture from a decorative surface to a solid foundation requires true, strategic commitment. CEOs and leaders who understand and implement this vision are years ahead of their competitors in terms of performance and success. Culture must be unique, understandable, legitimate and consistent, reflecting the organization's values and mission in an authentic and practical way. Only in this way can culture become a determining factor for long-term success.

There's no point in painting the wall if it's still leaking.

How is your company taking care of its culture?

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