Give the place individuals and their trust

At the heart of the competitive advantage, there is culture. How could Dell succeed to beat the competition in the last decade Thanks to its strategy Certainly. Thanks to its operational discipline Without a doubt. Thanks to the talent of teams Of course. But in an interview with the "Harvard Business Review", the question of whether what explains the dramatic success of his company, year after year, the founder, Michael Dell, and the President-Director General, Kevin Rollins, who spoke of something else. "Dell has perhaps an economic model unmatched, said Rollins, but the key to our success, is years and years of patient Assembly of DNA, which can be"cloned"also outside our business..." "Michael Dell adds:"culture plays a fundamental role."

They are not the only ones to believe that culture is key to competitive advantage when it comes to maintaining a level of performance in the long term. According to a study of bath, nearly four out of five leaders confirm. In other words, they are convinced that an organization without a high-performance culture is doomed to mediocrity.

Today, that is which allows the organizational fabric of large multinationals do not tear in their movement of extension around the world Corporate culture! It creates a "esprit de corps" within employees and gives them want to be part of the team. It encourages individuals and teams to outdo themselves and do what is effective, not only what is easy. In companies with strong culture, everyone knows what he must do, and why it does. Beyond the contractual relationship between the company and its employees, a true relationship committed intelligence, emotion and will.

If they are aware of the issue is a strong culture, involving and motivating teams, less than a leader in ten claims success in this area. Instill a culture is one thing, keep it and have it live is another. The best-performing companies succeed on these two tables at the same time. First, they have a unique personality, a "soul" that cannot be invented or decreed, copied, or transplanted. Based on shared values and a story, the character of a company is discovered from the inside. This founding pedestal champions business growth and profitability reach root six behaviour, six "attitudes-values", which, combined, create this precious winner DNA. Only the best pass this tour de force.

Neither the identity nor the values enough independently to create and nurture a strong culture. A company can have a strong personality but have poor performance if she grows not the values and attitudes that motivate individuals to make the right choices. Similarly, the best behaviour can grow to Overdrive, but without creating "Supplement of soul", this valuable link between employees and their business. It is the combination of the two elements which sealed a strong culture.

Reveal his "soul."

Personality, "the soul" of an organization, is often seen as something obvious. Just as each has his personality or his character, every business is unique. Often, founder values permeate the Organization and culture of a company forever. "Always better" view or "Cheapest life" Leclerc are a basic embedded in each fiber of the organizational fabric. These values spread the Organization and influence the day-to-day decisions and behaviours.

This ability to innovations and trials, always turned towards better performance for the client, is part of the genes of Michelin. In the manufacturer of tyres, the grip of culture manifests itself has always been in the direction of innovation service customer satisfaction. François Michelin was eloquent on this chapter: "the radial tire and its development reflect admirably the spirit." It was the genius of Mr. Marius Mignolet and those who worked with him. The tire was exceptional since in terms of manufacturing cost, it was barely 10 more expensive while he was three times more kilometres. I did follow and had constantly to develop this product in all markets. In 1950, we were ten times smaller than Goodyear or Firestone, because at the time, the turnover of Michelin was equal to the benefit of Goodyear. We are now the same size, innovation... .

A strong personality can help the company attract close individuals of these values and or which in turn take to the game of culture. Cultural ties go beyond hierarchical levels and geographic areas. The sense of belonging to a company helps employees make the right decisions and to improve day after day, whether or not they receive explicit instructions.

Embody six values-behaviour

Strong cultures have both remarkable and unique identity. But this is not sufficient to transform the link included in the contract of employment in sense of belonging. The "personality" of the company must be accompanied by an Alchemy between values and behaviours. Curiously, despite the unique look of each culture, there are always very strong companies a combination of six ingredients.

What winning means. Each employee knows the objectives and know how he can contribute. Person merely repeat the same task again and again. Ambitions increase or renew themselves every year. At Toyota, each has the look bolted on the score of net promotion (measure on the part of customers prescribers, détracteurs and neutral) and technical improvements often emanate from operators on the Assembly line which propose changes. Financial objectives are rarely sufficient to mobilize teams of thousands of people. Quality, client satisfaction ring more true for the staff of the first lines. This pays: Toyota in France not only ranks first on the list of companies that have the highest net promotion score, but is also champion in terms of market share growth.

Look out. In companies with strong culture, the ability to recover in case is stimulated by a constant focus on what is happening outside the daily customers, competitors, social environment, world, everything is passed to the screen to define the actions and necessary responses, and at all levels of the Organization, from marketing to production or to the support functions.

Think and act in individual contractor. What strikes in companies that are sometimes diametrically opposed cultures, it is the generalized sense of employees that their business is their job. Often, it is true. Profit-sharing or stock savings plans multiply and are employees of the owners within the meaning of the Act. But beyond the access to capital, it is how to respond and the permanent concern to make the right decisions that go in the direction of well thought out of interest

the company.

Give the place individuals and their trust. Unfortunately the image of companies dealing with their employees as "resources" interchangeable continues to negatively sticking to the business world. The most efficient companies are often those where it is good to live and work.

The remuneration is not the only way to show recognition to staff and develop the qualities of each: training, support, attention to personal and family life are all the elements that make people feel that they are important and that they account for the company. Employees who perceive make this investment hundredfold.

Give courage. This question is at the heart of the performance. Indeed, it is the power or the right to take risks. Companies where everyone would simply repeat indefinitely prescribed tasks would inevitably lose value. This may sound like obvious, particularly in France, but risk taking remains too often sanctioned. Too few companies, like General Electrics or Michelin, encourage and support creative value initiatives... knowing that the value is not always at the end of the adventure. Talking about much right to the error, but few companies know to build a culture that encourages and enhances decision-making risk instead of sanction, and process or structure that frame it and the reward instead of the brake.

Respect the differences. In all cultures high performing companies, is a culture of confrontation and the enrichment of ideas. Debates and differences are encouraged to deepen the process of decision making and create a positive emulation. Once the decision is taken, the opponents are more involved in the plan of action resulting.

Driving cultural change

Cultural change is not improvised and is not provided. Many leaders who are broken teeth by seeking to instill a new culture in their business. Must indeed work beliefs nestled deeper organizational unconscious and eradicate the deeper patterns. Such business is so obsessed with the reduction of the costs or the progress of financial ratios it is laborious for the redirect towards the development of new products focused on the needs of customers. Another has built a system of remuneration which strengthens the elevators and the competition between departments, then the cross collaboration would be the best way to boost the results...

Resistance to change is a centrifugal force with which it takes and against which we must fight relentlessly. Nothing is more difficult to change men, organizations, companies. And yet, to paraphrase Galileo, it changes! Crises are often of great catalysts to break the inertia and move. But at what price Cultural turns must and can be negotiated in the seizures. Companies can evolve without revolution, provided that relitigation begin at the top: it is by example and by hard work and careful, in contact with teams, leaders are able to embody the change.

Attention, it is to "manage" culture as a classic asset. You can play on the levers that will make this behaviour and the strengthen, such as compensation and promotion systems, but also the measurement of productivity indicators, the choice of priorities in the allocation of resources, the alignment of procedures and instructions, the flexibility of the hierarchical structure, etc. Cultural change through five key steps:

Connect with the land. Cultural change is a chemical reaction in which catalysts play a vital role. Management must rely on charismatic individuals, which may embody the new values and bring the "good word", because they are listened to and respected. Also, it is important to identify key positions and appoint men or the most competent women to light and action the new values.

Use strong symbols to move messages. Small variations in what may seem symbolic produce major effects on cultural change. They send the signal that things change and become really serious: when the staff starts to respond himself on the phone to hear what say clients, when the Directorate-General surrenders to the driver or the private jet, when places are more reserved parking or at the restaurant business, Word-of-mouth is the change and everything is relayed quickly. There is then a real cultural shift. A redesign of the titles of the duties and responsibilities may have the same impact as if the grammar of the company changed registry. Jean Peyrelevade, former CEO of Crédit Lyonnais and the author of the recovery of the Bank says that upon his arrival, one of his first measures was the Elimination of all hierarchical titles on business cards to leave only the function: shock... and a clear message to all the teams!

Align the organization culture. There is no possible cultural change if the organization does not reflect the new values. This is true for the compensation systems (how to promote team work if it continues to calculate the increases on only individual performance) but also to the hierarchical structure (how to say close to clients by adding layers to the organizational chart), relations seats subsidiaries or central points of sale, etc. This seems obvious, but the number of inconsistencies between aspirationnelle culture and the reality of the organization is often "unstoppable" in companies: all intangible barriers that slow the March of the change.

"Break" cultural terrorism. All changes are sometimes fierce resistance. Whether to take the time to encourage "reluctant" to the next step, must be on the other hand "get rid" quickly of "bad faith recalcitrants" who systematically refuse any idea of evolution. These difficult decisions that also have strong symbolic, which marks the beginning of change.

Measure developments. Need to keep track of the journey and save progress points, to celebrate the success and measure the magnitude of the work. Tools exist to measure progress, comparing conventional dashboards change on each of six attitudes before and after the launch of the cultural change, should also communicate in external as internally, to "promote" success by combining collaborators with the results.

Life is short, of companies even more than that of men. As evidenced by Philip Ball in his book "critical mass": "largest 5,000 in exercise in late 1982, a third party only exist yet (as independent entity) in 2000.". Those who manage to both by their performance as by their identity are those that succeed to adapt without leaving dissolve their values in the vagaries of the market...