This is a rebroadcast of Episode 307.

Synopsis

Dr. Misner has used the expression “Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast” a number of times, but he’s never gone into detail about how. Today’s podcast focuses on the importance of culture in business success.

Here are some important factors in a healthy organizational culture:

* Tradition

* Mission

* Engagement

* Recognition

* Education

A great strategy keeps people in the game, but a great culture helps an organization win.

Brought to you by Networking Now.

Complete Transcript of BNI Podcast Episode 307 –

Priscilla:

Hello everyone and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast brought to you by NetworkingNow.com, which is the leading site on the net for networking downloadables. I am Priscilla Rice, and I am coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio, which is in Berkeley, CA. I am joined on the phone today by the Founder and Chairman of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello Ivan. How are you?

Ivan:

I am doing great this week, Priscilla. Thank you very much.

Priscilla:

What are you going to share with us?

Ivan:

You know, I have talked a lot in a number of podcasts that culture eats strategy for breakfast and used tuhat expression a number of times. I have never really gotten into the detail of talking about how. How does culture eat strategy for breakfast. So that is what today’s podcast is going to be about.

I think this is particularly important. Not only for BNI businesses and where they live or their BNI chapter is. I think a lot of business schools talk about strategy and it tends to be their primary focus. Culture is really a lot less understood. Culture involves a variety of contributing factors including a blend of attitudes, beliefs, missions, philosophy- any momentum to help create and sustain a successful brand or organization.

Culture really affects how people within an organization interact. This is true not only for the macro approach of an organization but for the micro approach- the individual chapter of BNI as well as BNI as a worldwide organization.

I think culture is key for an organization’s longterm success. It’s the most important thing in an organization. It applies at all levels, from the top all the way down. There are a number of factors that I believe go into building a healthy organizational culture. That is what I want to talk about. I want to talk about what those are.

It starts with tradition. Tradition is what made the company what it is. They tell the world who they are as an organization by the tradition that they celebrate. One way for an organization to maintain the organizational culture and egos is to introduce and celebrate a variety of traditions. I think Disney, in particular, has been a master of this concept by training all new employees on the traditions of the organization. A strong tradition applied to an organization is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy organizational culture.

That is why when I train every Director and Director Consultant in BNI, we spend several hours just on BNI’s traditions. It is part of the core training that we do as an organization. If you take a look at the book, Givers Gain, one of the chapters of the book, Chapter 10, the BNI story, is about BNI’s traditions. It is really inculcated into the organization. It’s one of the things that nobody talks about in business school.

The second is mission. A burning mission can really give laser focus to an organization. The mission statement needs to be short and memorable. It needs to be sort of a rallying cry for people throughout the organization. One of the things I have learned running a business for almo...