Getting the culture right

I've been corresponding with a friend of mine who works at a software company that's struggling to roll out new products. My friend used to work at a major customer in the company's marketplace, so he has lots of industry knowledge and insights. Having been a customer, he understands the customer's point of view. He's frustrated, though, because within the four walls where he works, it's the developer's mindset, rather than the customer's, that prevails. The company was founded by developers and is run by developers. Their strategic point-of-view tends to center on what they've built and why it's better than everything else, rather than what's happening in the marketplace, what customers need, and what business opportunities can be seized.

Which reminds me of this dismal truth: the wrong company culture can thwart just about any strategy or plan.

So now, at the beginning of the year, as you're making your resolutions, cleaning out last year's clutter, and preparing to move resolutely forward, add this to your list of new year's resolutions:

Examine your organization's culture and the ways its mind hinder or support your plans and pursuits. If you're a manager of any kind, examine your own habits and behaviors—your own culture, as it were—and ask how you could change what you do to facilitate the changes and activities you'd like to undertake.

If you're a manager, your walk matters as much or more than your talk. In addition to planning change, make sure you're behavior supports it.