Why a Healthy Corporate Culture is Critical to Surviving 2023

It was 2006 when Peter Drucker cautioned us that “Culture will eat strategy for breakfast!” How insightful his words were back then, and it is even more true today. And yet… we still find many global corporate leaders dedicating the lion’s share of their time, energy, and money to creating strategic roadmaps by which creating and sustaining a healthy corporate culture is at best an afterthought.

First, before we examine why we must heed the wisdom of Peter Drucker, let us first make sure we all understand exactly what a healthy corporate culture looks like.

DEI(Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) are the pillars of any organization’s healthy culture make-up. Corporations prove their genuine commitment to a healthy corporate culture by the composition of their leadership team; the way they attract and retain high performing talent; and by the evidence of their supplier’s DEI make-up. Healthy corporate culture also acknowledges and upholds core values that encourage and celebrate diverse work and communication styles, as well as offer life-work opportunities. As we all try to find the exit door to the pandemic, what we know for sure is that insisting on a business-as-usual corporate culture will prove to have deadly consequences as well.

The pandemic forced us to examine how we navigate and manage work in a broader construct of our lives. Working under adverse conditions no matter how fat the paycheck is a thing of the past. We may not like paying $4/gallon for gas. We sure as heck are not feeling the astronomical price of groceries these days. However, I wager that we will adapt to these changes before we wave the white flag to working in an unhealthy corporate culture again.

Despite what the pundits and naysayers are pontificating, the increasing fear that a recession is imminent due to inflation, supply chain challenges, climate change et al. are indeed legitimate pressures and indicators of our current global economic state. Make no mistake though that harnessing the human capital of your organization will eclipse all those external factors if corporations continue to not supply their people with an environment and culture where they can be authentic, creative, innovative, seen and rewarded.