The Corporate Culture Survival Guide

"There is no right or wrong culture, no better or worse culture, except in relation to what the organization is trying to do."

"Culture is the sum total of all the shared, taken-for-granted assumptions that a group has learned throughout its history. It is the residue of success."

"One of the most difficult tasks facing the newcomer in an organization is to decipher the reward-and-status system."

"These deeper assumptions are often difficult to decipher, yet they are the real drivers of how the culture works at the operational level."

"Try to see your culture as a positive force to be used rather than a constraint to be overcome."

"In a young and growing organization, the personal behavior of the leader is by far the most important determinant of how the culture is shaped."

"If the succession process is not managed effectively, founders and founding families lose power and are eventually replaced by formal means."

"People resist change because such unlearning is uncomfortable and anxiety-producing."

"The organization cannot learn anything new if the leaders themselves do not."

"Rather than being the glue and source of identity, culture becomes part of the tradition of success?the assumptions that brought the organization to where it is today. "

"A cultural mismatch in an acquisition, merger, or joint venture is as great a risk as a financial, product, or market mismatch."