Episode 204 — “This is the Way” on Corporate Culture

The culture bandwagon is picking up steam. Everyone is citing its organization’s “culture” as the foundation for its activities in the hope of meeting a rapidly evolving standard for organizations. In its latest corporate compliance guidance, the Justice Department, along with numerous regulatory agencies continue to cite the importance of a company’s “culture of compliance.”
But when it comes to defining the terms, how to manage a company’s culture and how to measure, monitor and measure a company’s culture – everyone responds with a blank stare. That is when we hear the Justice Potter Stewart famous definition of obscenity, “I know it when I see it.”
To provide my own perspective on some of these issues, I am dedicating this podcast episode to corporate culture. My answers may not be “correct” or even “persuasive,” but the dialogue has to begin. I have long advocated for practical approaches to defining, managing and maintaining a company’s culture. As I often write, culture is a company’s most important “internal control.”