Sherif El Henaoui shares a few thoughts on happiness in a job from a cultural perspective.  Recently I had two coaching-like conversations about the job and its impact on someone’s happiness. In the first case, a German professional mentioned to me that a job is a job and that happiness comes from elsewhere. Yes there might be moments of satisfaction, but it is far from being the reason for happiness. In the second case, an American professional, telling me that…

Mark Ledden shares the first installment of this three-part series of articles describing Kenning’s 3D Culture Process. To help our clients get smarter and more intentional about their cultures, we’ve developed a proprietary methodology called 3D Culture. It’s a robust yet efficient 3-step process (Diagnose, Design, and Develop) for evaluating the current state of a client’s culture and prescribing a set of actions, as necessary, aimed at (re)building a healthy culture while ensuring optimal integration with the organization’s vision, mission,…

Paul Millerd takes a look forward to 2025 and writes about what winning organizations will look like. I have studied organizations, people and motivation and am fascinated by the changes that have unfolded in my relatively short career. I’ll defer to Neils Bohr to qualify this entire piece: Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future — Neils Bohr Since I can’t predict the future, I promise this will contain ideas that are not fully baked. I hope you can…

David Edelman shares an article on the challenges and opportunities of moving towards diversity and inclusivity. Recently, I was fortunate to sit down with CVS Health’s Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President, Workforce Strategies, David Casey, to discuss the challenges and opportunities we face in our journey toward diversity and inclusivity. David is a true visionary on a very important and hot-button topic, and I feel that some of the lessons and takeaways from our conversation could be useful to…

Cancel culture may have identified the covert (and often, overt) bias that pervades society, but has it stopped the opportunity for healthy discourse? In this article, John Murray reminisces on days gone by where healthy discourse and personal differences could be voiced freely without fear of discrimination or disdain.   It is tough to get a majority of Americans to agree on anything these days, let alone an overwhelming majority. Wait! Here’s something: “Political discourse in America has devolved and become…

Yanay Zohar uncovers how a radical shift towards transparency can change current culture and shares the new rules of play adopted by two visionary leaders. Most of us would agree that transparency is a good thing.Yet somehow, not only did we get used to its glaring absence at work, but most people would even find it borderline inappropriate. What is the price we pay, and how can we reclaim it?  How comfortable are you with… Sharing publicly your salary information?…

Amanda Setili explains why the structure of a video game can be applied to business to attract and leverage top talent.  There’s a reason that the video game industry is larger ($179.7 billion according to IDC data) than the movie and music industries combined: playing video games makes players feel good, and for reasons that are easy to document. Todd Harris, founder and CEO of Skillshot Media, was the one who first made me realize this. For years, he has…

Jesse Jacoby explains how to define and communicate your concept of corporate culture.  Ask 100 managers how they define organizational culture, and you’ll probably get as many different definitions as possible. Even scholars cannot agree; and that means that your definition is as appropriate as anyone else’s. This makes the challenge, however, of creating the culture that you want particularly difficult, because it is almost impossible to hit a target that is ambiguous. How can you describe something abstract in…

  Rob Ristagno shares a podcast with a transcript that illustrates the important role company culture plays in the growth of the company.  David Kinsley didn’t anticipate taking over the family business. In his teenage years, he dreamed about becoming a Wall Street power broker, vacationing in St. Barths, and living a life filled with the finer things. But when a chronic illness upended his first two years of college, his life changed course. He finally found relief and recovery…

  Mark Ledden shares an article from his company blog on leadership and action in diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization. This past year has caused tectonic cultural shifts. The same is certainly true within organizations. With the pandemic, many organizations have jumped feet first into remote working, flexible work schedules, and new ways of engaging their teams. At the same time, virtually every organization we’re aware of is seeking to respond to the calls for justice and equity…

  In this article, Amanda Setili explains why conflicting opinions are a necessary part of growth. Back when I was applying for admission to Harvard Business School, one of the essays I had to complete was “when did you confront an ethical dilemma and how did you handle it?” I remember being stuck on this question for quite a while, because as a young engineer, it seemed to me that every question had a correct answer. There are no ethical…

  Dan Markovitz provides an article that explores what it means to be a healthy company. What is a healthy person? We can argue over specific metrics, but we’d all agree that we have to account for physical as well as mental/emotional health. What is a healthy organization? As with  individuals, there will be disagreement over metrics, but clearly we have to consider financial performance, internal stakeholders (employees), and external stakeholders (community). Healthy organizations recognize the importance of all three…

  A crisis often kickstarts innovation in technology and shifts in culture. As working from home options become a more normal structure, how will this impact performance and growth? Kaihan Krippendorff takes a look at the company culture of Netflix to explore the impact of no rules rules. When we think about culture and responsibility in the workplace, companies generally fall into one of two categories. Some seek to monitor their employees and keep them in a structured order by…

  Robyn Bolton offers a post that illustrates a common issue in today’s workplaces. Some conversations stick with you for a long time. Some conversations take your breath away the moment they happen. A few weeks ago, I had one that did both. “Everyone is focused on ‘humanizing’ work,” my client said. “I wish people would de-humanize work. I would love nothing more than to be treated like a line of code or a piece of equipment. We treat our…

Jesse Jacoby provides a post that explains why it is so difficult to communicate your vision of the corporate culture you would like to have, and what you can do to articulate the abstract. Ask 100 managers how they define organizational culture, and you’ll probably get as many different definitions as possible. Even scholars cannot agree; and that means that your definition is as appropriate as anyone else’s. This makes the challenge, however, of creating the culture that you want…

  While many companies pay lip service to company values, and many more don’t pay attention past the brand development and marketing stage, Xavier Lederer shares an evergreen post from his company blog that explains why establishing and maintaining core values are integral to a company’s direction, growth, and success. ‘Corporate culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage that is completely within the control of the entrepreneur.’ – David Cummings, Co-founder of Pardot The #1 thing I wish I had…

  Jennifer Hartz shares encouraging words on how the current COVID-19 situation provides the opportunity to learn, grow, and serve.  Obviously, #COVID19 creates a number of significant problems in the world, our country, businesses, nonprofits, governments, and schools. This temporary situation, current trend, or permanent transformation is challenging. So, let’s look at the opportunities for people working or learning remotely or not employed full time to improve their lives as well as others’. REMOTE WORK IS EXPANDING Twitter announced that…

  Robyn M. Bolton shares sage thoughts and inspirational photographs that provide a moment of relief during stressful times. I don’t know about you, but I’m rather tired of the non-stop hysteria that seems to be occurring these days. Between COVID-19, politics, the economy, and the state of Tom Brady’s contract (sorry, I live in Boston), it seems that the world is having a panic attack. Namaste, people. Namaste. In an effort to not contribute to the panic, instead of…

  Martin Pergler begins a conversation on corporate culture to identify the pros and cons of working for the corporate world, small business or the public sector.   Putting considerations such as the work itself, employer values, career trajectory, benefits, job security, etc. (all covered by others) aside, there is the elephant in the room. Inhabitants of the corporate world, small business (including startups), and the public sector are all fond of rolling their eyes — with a bit of…

  It takes more than talent to become a valued employee in today’s workplace. Sherif El Henaoui identifies the benefits of finding the right fit.  Top people are desired. Every company wants them: the intelligent, creative, endurable, high-performance worker. Since this desired workforce is rare, there is a “war” as suggested by the HR literature. I once heard a quote of a McKinsey partner commenting on the Internet bubble crisis saying, “We won the war for talent, but we ended…