“Is it companies who put employees first? Do they perform better than companies who put customers first? Or those that put stakeholders first? I thought it was a fundamental question needed to be answered. And the answer [that came through John Kotter’s research] surprised everybody… The companies that outperformed by a factor of 10 were those that treated all 3 equally. That the employees, customers, and shareholders were all like a 3-legged stool.”
We're republishing one of our "Culture Classics" featuring Verne Harnish, founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) with over 18,000 members worldwide. Verne serves as CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company, and has authored influential business books including "Mastering the Rockefeller Habits" and "Scaling Up Compensation."
Listen to this episode to discover:
· How Verne would structure a book on culture, and his vision for the first three chapters.
· Why successful companies embrace their "strangeness" to attract the right talent.
· The danger of changing company culture after the critical first five years.
· How "careship" outperforms traditional leadership in modern organizations.
· Why coaching resonates with today's workforce more than managing or leading.
· The power of intentional language in shaping effective organizational culture.
Further resources:
· Verne Harnish on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/verneharnish/
· Scaling Up: https://scalingup.com/
· Entrepreneurs Organization (EO): https://growth.eonetwork.org/
· Change to Strange: Create a Great Organization by Building a Strange Workforce, by Daniel M. Cable: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Strange-Organization-Building-Workforce/dp/0131572229
· Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't, by Verne Harnish: https://www.amazon.com/Scaling-Up-Companies-Rockefeller-Habits/dp/0986019526
· Corporate Culture and Performance, by John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett: https://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Culture-Performance-John-Kotter/dp/1451655320
· Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company, by Kevin Oakes: https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Renovation-Leadership-Actions-Unshakeable/dp/1260464369
· The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism, by Hubert Joly: https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Business-Leadership-Principles-Capitalism/dp/B09156FL17/ref=sr_1_1?crid=E77JU5VTTTZH
· Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time, by Jeff Sutherland and J.J. Sutherland: https://www.amazon.com/Scrum-Doing-Twice-Work-Half/dp/038534645X