Egbert Schram is the Group CEO at Hofstede Insights, and an established speaker and sparring partner on the topic of how, where and when the culture factor impacts business and organisational operations. He has worked in the field for some two decades and in over 40+ countries with clients such as GE Healthcare, Central Bank of Nigeria, UNDP, Coca Cola, to name a few. Egbert holds various additional roles in organisations such as the Forbes Business Council. He is the Chair of Finnish Dutch Chamber of Commerce, and on the Amcham advisory board in Finland.

Egbert's style is provocative yet delicate, focused on making a complex topic understandable. Subbu and Egbert discuss culture at the societal, national and organizational levels, how culture develops, the link between organizational culture and strategy, and much more.

Key points

4:00 - Geerte Hofstede's legacy of culture studies and application

8:00 - What is culture?

11:15 - The interplay between national and organizational cultures

16:00 - How does org culture develop and the role of leaders in shaping culture

20:35 - The link between strategy and organizational culture 

27:30 - The reasons leaders don't nearly focus enough on culture

31:00 - Organic approach v/s active approach of managing org culture

35:20 - How can employees play an active role in shaping org culture?

39:00 - Leading with purpose

41:10 - The journey to culture change

45:30 - Direct v/s indirect culture change

48:45 - The biggest myths about culture and how to overcome them

54:30 - What's new and upcoming in the field of measuring and developing culture?