INSTANT MBA: You Can't Change A Great Corporate Culture
Today's advice comes from Jonathan Rosenberg, SVP of Product Management at Google:
"I think one test of management and culture is, could you change it? And I think if, as an executive and as a management team you couldn't change the culture if you tried, then you've built a great culture.
And the reason I say that is that the culture you espouse has a selection bias. The people who come here are the people who believe they are coming here because of our mission and because the user comes first.
If I as an executive tried to make decisions that ran counter to that, the troops at Google would rise up against me. The mates would mutiny on the ship. And I don't think that's true of many other companies."
Jonathan Rosenberg,
Google's SVP of Product Management
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65 comments:
You honestly cant change a great corporate culture. A great coporate culture will always be beneficial, and if you try to change it, it will only hurt it. This goes back to the old quote "If its not broke, dont fix it". This is very true, and I believe people should let things be and go with the flow.
A great corporate culture is a must if it plans to be successful. It cannot be tainted by unethical actions and proceedings. It is beneficial to all aspects of the business when a great culture is provided. It also increases employee morale. A great corporate culture should never be changed.
Culture is hard to change and if it is strong like google's it wouldn't change. I think he is right when he says they will stand up against him. When people apply for a job with the google they already know how things work there. I think if you were hired and didn't fit in, you would be highly likely to look for another job. Strong cultures aren't accepting to change, this can be very good and very bad in my eyes.
agree to an extent. People will rose up or mutiny in response to change in culture, but today many people worry about there jobs and would rather keep quiet to put food on the table for there family. I think Google workers might be more bark than bite when the situation presented itself.
It is hard to change the culture in the company and if it is working why change. Great culture will promote good moral and employees would be happy to stay working longer in the company which maintaining the turnover rate.
I agree with this. I don't like change. And you can't change a great corporate culture. Not only can a great corporate culture be changed, but I don't think it should change.
A great corporate culture is very hard to change, but must be accomplished to have a successful business. This will help with your employees confidence and allow your business to strive.
Every organization of every size needs some type of culture. Cultures are easy to start, you just need to work to keep it strong, and once it’s at its strongest, it can’t be changed.
I believe that if a potential employee wants to fit in with a certain organization he or she must be aware of the organizations culture. I there is a organization that has a culture that has been working for years and some new person tries to change it, that person may be looked down upon. It is up to the person to decide whether or not they want to make a change or stick with the norm. The perfect quote for this article is that “You can not teach an old dog new trick!”
If a company has a good, strong culture, then I think it shouldn't be changed. A culture like that is hard to come by and once the company obtains it, it can only mean great things. Also, alot of people look at an organization's culture to decide if they would like to work for them or not. A strong culture can attract many future employees.
This is a great article. Companies shouldn't try to change good cultures. This goes back to the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
I agree with the advice, if something is a culture is great it would be difficult to change. Change is not something that is taken very easy so it would benefit someone to not even think about changing a culture. As mentioned sometimes it's the culture of a company that gets the people that may be an asset to them.
Building a good culture is the key to starting a successful company. Google is a great company, and I say that based off my experience with the data base. I use it often and it typically never lets me down. I am sure the culture of this business has a lot to do with its success.
Having a good business culture does ultimately effect every aspect of an organization. Successful organizations have solid cultres that can't be changed. These types of organizations attract honest employees as well as faithful customers. When I start my career, organizationla culture will be important to me, and it will probably have an impact on my decision to work at particular jobs.
If you were able to change a corporate culture, then you'd have the same job for the rest of your life. I agree with Rosenberg stating the people who come here are the people who believe they are coming here because of our mission and because the user comes first. No one will continue to work somewhere that he or she feels uncomfortable or feels as if he or she just doesn't fit in.
I'm not sure if changing the culture would be a good thing or not. I guess as long as it's a good one it wouldn't need changing. I agree when Rosenberg says, "then you've built a great culture."
I think that a strong culture is hard to change. Is it possible? Yes, but it would take a lot of work. People join a company because they believe in their mission and their culture. You cannot change the culture unless it needs to be changed.
A corporate culture tells a lot about the company itself. Every time I apply for a job or go visit a company I tend to people watch to see how the culture is. You know a great culture when you see it, everyone is working for a common goal. This is a cool thing to see within a business or organization.
I agree that a corporate culture shouldn't be changed if there is nothing wrong with it and the company is already successful. I guess if the company was going down then the culture would have to be changed, but usually it is the culture that will make employees loyal to the company and it is the reason why it is successful.
If it ain't broke don't fix it. A great company culture is something that is hard to find so you want to make sure you are always doing the things that make your company that successful.
The corporate culture tells a lot about how the company works. To have a good corporation culture the managers have to hire the right people that fit together and have good values. If a company does not have a good corporate culture then the company could go down.
Corporate culture rally is very important in a company. The people that work there can tell and show you a lot about how an organization is run.
Today’s advice from Jonathan Rosenberg was very good advice. I think one test of management and culture is, could you change it? if a company has a good culture than don’t change. Don’t fix something if it isn’t broke.
You constantly hear great things about Google and this advice from one of their Senior officers really speaks volumes. I agree that when you have it good, changing it seems almost stupid. If you have a culture that is great how it is, changing it is almost impossible because the people who are a part of it want it this way and expect it this way. It shows the dedication they have to their craft and the original mission of their said company. Not many companies run this way but it is nice to know some still exist
I don't think I necessarily agree that when a culture can't be changed that it means it is a good culture. From my own experience, sometimes when things are done a certain way and then there is a high turnover of employees, the "new" employees who try to change the company for the better have a hard time doing so. Many times things are done wrong and the "culture" of the previous employees may restrain changes from happening. I do think that a culture shapes a company, and a strong culture is great, but it is not always a good thing when a culture cannot be changed.
I think that corperate culture is something that is indicative to companies and something that cannot be changed. It forms and sticks with the workers as they come in. You can tell what the culture is when you meet the employee and you spend some time around the business. For looking for a job, it is important to find the right culture that fits you because you will never be able to change it.
Changing culture in a organization would be difficult. It is hard to change something that is embedded already.
It is hard enough to make changes in a corporation, but to try to tackle changing a great corporate culture seems to be an impossible task. People get used to the way things are done and, generally, don't like change to begin with. Ultimately, if the system works, don't change the culture. Find something else to fine tune.
I would say that I only semi-agree with his idea .corporate culture. Like someone else commented earlier, a lot of people nowadays just simply need a job and don't want to rock the boat. Also, sometimes bad behaviors are so ingrained that they can be nearly impossible to change
This is so true. If you try to adversely change something about a strong culture people will rebel. That is a true test of the culture.
The corporate culture tells you a lot about how the companys history and how the company works. To have a good corporation culture the managers have to hire the right people that can work together and have good values to hold the company together. If a company does not have a good corporate culture then the company could easily go down.
It would be very difficult to change a corporate culture. The culture has been formed by many people and will not likely change. A great corporate culture is very beneficial to a company and shouldn't be changed.
As long as management supports the culture the culture will not change. However, if you get managers with a bad attitude or are just horrible manager the culture will definately change I don't care how strong it is. People are going to react to the people around them.
I agree that a great corporate culture will be hard to change. My parents have always said, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. I think that this quote would be a good one to remember when thinking about change.
The old saying, “If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it,” applies to this situation. Why would a company change their corporate culture if it is working for them because there is no point? If it is working now than most likely it will continue on working for a while.
It would be extremely difficult to try to change a corporation's culture. The corporate culture is usually very strong, which is a good thing for the most part. In order for the culture to change, the people would have to change, which we all know, people rarely change.
I've never thought of it that way. That says a lot about the culture and the employees at Google that they would rise against any change they felt was bad for the company. Not many companies can say that.
A strong corporate culture is a great attribute for a company. Companies such as Google and other Fortune 500 companies are on that prestigious list for a reason, they all contain a strong culture within the organization. A culture that cannot be changed is considered a good organizational culture. That is not to say that subtle changes on processes and outcomes within the organization means that the culture has in some way been altered.
More companies should take this advice. It is not always right to attempt to change things when they are not needed to be.
A company really must have a strong corporate culture for it to be the most effiecent and successful company that it can be. This really shows how the Google employees have such a strong culture and are comfortable working with eachother. Being comfortable at work and being able to be yourself not only helps you as an employee be successful, but helps the company bond as well.
Clearly, when a corporate culture has become so ingrained that it's unchangeable, you have a great culture (usually). This means that the company has done an exceptional job of making its goals and expectations clear and completely consistent through the years. The mention of Google is particularly true, as that company has had a vision and culture from the very beginning that now defines it. It is the kind of culture that corporations dream about. If your company is known for culture, prospective employees will seek you out because they buy into that. This gives customers greater confidence, too.
A company's corporate culture is usually very strong which is good for the most part. In order for it to change, the people would have to change which rarely happens. A good corporate culture is a great thing for a company.
When you can't change the culture, you are on the right path like said here. Because you have really created a culture when there are beliefs and ideas instilled in your company. They become a way of life and very hard to change. This isn't a bad thing though if you did it right.
I think he is slightly correct, but not totally. Just because a culture cannot be changed does not mean it is the correct culture. Heck, horrible things happen every single day in developing countries that would be considered atrocious here in America. It is not bad to them because it is part of their "culture".
If a corporate culture works well for the company, why change it? That's the problem with many companies, they are trying to "keep up with the Jones" and sometimes change could not be a good thing.
I agree that companies should have a great corporate culture is a must if it wants to be successful. If it’s a great culture, then it would be hard to change; and why would you want to change it anyway? But, if it’s a not-so-great culture, then it should be easily able to change.
I never really thought about a workplace culture being strong because you cannot change it. Although that makes a lot of sense.
You can tell a lot about a company by looking at it's corporate culture. I great company culture is hard to change. If a company has a strong culture, why change it. Plus not a lot of people like change. When joining a company, look at their mission statement and what they believe in; this will tell you a lot about the company.
I agree most companies could not change their culture. Most of the employees stay at their job because they like where they work.
This is totally true. I don't think you could change Google's culture because it had made them money and it's a proven systems.
Culture is something that is built up over time. He makes a good point in saying that if you have a good established culture, why change it? This would only harm your reputation as a manager. I think that there would have to be a major problem with the culture of the company if a complete change was necessary.
I definitely agree with this idea it is really hard to change a culture that has been around for so long. Especially if the culture has proven to make a lot of money off of their strategy plan.
I don't think that a company's culture can be changed espically if it has been that way for a very long time. The culture is what the company is about and if it is working then it is going to be left alone. It is part of the strategy for the company and if it works it's not going to be changed.
A great corporate culture is essential for a company to survive today. If the corporate culture is great then your employees are behind the company together and will do whatever it takes to help the company survive. The people will take pride in their work.
I do believe that it is important for a company or organization to have a great corporate culture. If your corporate culture is great then the employees are more willing to do a great job at what they do. They are alwso more likely to stay with the organization for a long time.
A strong culture is a very important element in a successful company. When everyone is on the same page it makes working towards certain goals that much easier. If the culture is working then it is understandable why it is impossible to change it. No one wants to mess with something that is working and that the employees believe in.
Strong companies must strive to have a strong culture. It is very important for an organization.
This applies to the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If something is working, do not change it. Great article!
In any company it is important to have a strong sense of culture. This is what builds loyalty, trust, and confidence in employees and helps them to exceed expectations and have innovation. I don't think it is impossible to change culture, but if it is working and beneficial I do not see the need to change it.
Corporate culture is what shows people who you are as a business. If it is easily changed then in my opinion it is a weak company. A company with a strong corporate culture is more than likely a place I would like to work.
I somewhat agree with this article. I do agree that it will be quite difficult to change a culture that is already working. The author noted that his employees would revolt if he tried. But if the change would make what is already working just a tiny bit better, than it should be changed.
I somewhat agree with this article. I do agree that it will be quite difficult to change a culture that is already working. The author noted that his employees would revolt if he tried. But if the change would make what is already working just a tiny bit better, than it should be changed.
I think he is right, if you cannot change you culture “when you have a good culture or the one you were striving for” than that is a very good thing. However if you a trying to change the culture because it needs changing and you still cannot change a things then you are in for a long long ride.
Who’s to say that the company’s culture is good or bad? In my current company there are many areas and in one particular area those inside my feel the culture is good but when other executives look in and see the results that are not so good and the attitudes of the workers with the I do not really care, feel the culture needs to be changed. I think that it is something that should be looked into in depth and not just at the surface. No one likes changes but sometimes change is what is needed for the company to grow.
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