November 14, 2011
Many studies demonstrate strong correlation of a healthy organizational culture to high performance, now there is further evidence of this link from one of the most renowned researchers, authors and thought leaders on organizational management and culture. James L. Heskett's new book, The Culture Cycle: How to shape the unseen force that transforms performance, demonstrates that developing an effective culture can account for up to half of the difference in operating income between two organizations in the same business.

Senn Delaney is pleased to share an exclusive chapter excerpt from the book, Chapter 6: Measuring Effectiveness.
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“In many organizations, culture is the most potent and hard-to-replicate source of competitive advantage, states Heskett. "Organization culture is not a soft concept. Its impact on profit is significant and can be measured and quantified.”

Senn Delaney President Jim Hart recommends the book as reading for any leaders considering leading a culture transformation in their organizations. “Today's leaders are under intense pressure to maximize performance and demonstrate success in quantifiable, measurable and sustainable ways. From more than 30 years of research and working with organizations around the globe, we have proven that creating thriving, high-performance cultures is one of the most critical drivers of performance in the most successful companies. Heskett's book strongly supports our work and we are pleased to share some of the key learnings in this excerpt.”
Purchase the book at Amazon.com

Manage the culture cycle

We are also pleased to share an article by Heskett, Manage the Culture Cycle, that was published in The World Financial Review September/October 2011 edition. In the article, Heskett notes that culture is shaped and tracked by numbers — just not the financial numbers, and warns that running an organization on financial numbers alone is like driving while looking in the rearview mirror. Organizations that wait for a significant downturn in their financial measures, such as growth and profit, to signal the need for change are doomed to fail because the Four Rs of competitive advantage in organizational cultures — retention, referrals, returns to labor and relations with customers — will have declined long before financial results begin to show it, he writes.
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The Culture Cycle excerpt, article and other news, research and CEO interviews are also featured in Senn Delaney's fall newsletter.
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