EMC Food and Beverage Manufacturers from Peterborough through Woodstock enjoyed an informative and interactive presentation on Sustaining Corporate Culture on May 27th, 2009 in Milton, Ontario.  Our Guest Speakers included Doug Harper, General Manager and Corporate Director of Continuous Improvement, Blommer Chocolate Company, in Campbellford, Ontario and Jim Morris, Senior Partner, Bristlecone Learning, LLC of Bend, Oregon.

Working with 40 participants in a workshop style format, Doug and Jim shared knowledge and experiences that highlighted the importance of understanding and appreciating the role and subsequent impact culture plays in an organization.  There are various methods proposed for determining the status of corporate culture and Doug and Jim found the Denison Method one that worked particularly well for their company.  Working within groups and utilizing the Denison model, participants were asked to review one of four case studies, and discuss within their group and then at large some of the business issues relating to culture that were evident.  This led to some interesting discussion!

Our speakers were passionate about the importance of sustaining corporate culture and left those attending this session with some simple thoughts to keep in mind as you move forward to develop a positive culture in your organizations - some perspectives, if you will, from their own personal experiences:

1.       Listen and Learn

• Get people engaged in problem solving - make their job more interesting
• Management does not have all the answers - it is important talk to the employees
• When it comes to change - 20% will lead the change, 20% will never get it, and the remaining 60% are those that should garner the greater attention
• Training for teams and leaders ultimately led to the development of a steering group of leaders - that steering group now champions initiatives
• Make sure your biggest enemy is at the table - otherwise it could be counterproductive and they could be working behind your back
• Bringing those who are not willing to share their knowledge or information to the table can open up things to a broader perspective
• People who touch the product have the greatest power - more often these are the people most willing to help "do change" for an organization
• Buy-in is essential - middle management has a genuine interest in changing things
• Hold people accountable for their choices
• Communicate - talk all of the time and LISTEN

2.       Walk the Talk

• Need people who are willing to walk the talk
• Lot easier to figure out where you are going with the right people on the team

3.       Creativity Before Capital

• Training in problem solving
• Implementation of team-based activities
• Measurement has a huge impact on human behaviour
• People will give back if they feel you care

4.       Letting Go

• Let people fail within reason - learning from mistakes is good - can lead to other ideas
• Let the people at the lowest levels make decisions

5.       Sustain the Culture

• Recognize, understand and appreciate that as quickly as you resolve one problem another will exist!

Special thanks to our Guest Speakers for so openly sharing their experiences and best practices with those in attendance and thank you as well to everyone who participated in this interactive session! 

Have a great week!

Take care,

Bren