Cold Star Project

Yan Song - How Can We Solve the Challenge of Operationalizing Cultural Development? - CSP S04E04

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Systems Thinking thought leader and Fortune 500 executive Yan Song is our guest on this first episode of a series on the Cold Star Project. Our series topic is about culture in organizations. The question we're asking in this episode is: How can we solve the 21st Century challenge of operationalizing cultural development? Begin with the possibility that we can build culture development right into our operations, and have our people improve it as they carry out their daily tasks.  


Host Jason Kanigan asks Yan Song:

  • How important is organizational culture? Of course it is nice to work at an org with a pleasant, uplifting culture; however, what do we mean in a measurable, rationalist, even economic sense?
  • What does “operationalizing cultural development” mean? How are we defining it?
  • What are the ‘levers and dials’ of how it works? {Play, Purpose, Potential in the HBR article; compensation is not a factor, not a surprise to many of us; higher customer satisfaction; higher revenue per employee; “ToMo” total motivation; article gets into some behavioral economics with the emotional & economic pressures that I don’t believe are always valid, but we can mention them}
  • Is there a relationship between company process and employee motivation? {up to 50 motivation points on a -100 to +100 scale in the HBR article}  - What can leaders do to help initiate and support this kind of change? {Huddle, Why, role design in the HBR article; note how these go back to identity and sense of personal involvement}
  • How can a leader discern what kind of culture they are in now, and whether senior management will be supportive of such change? We understand “the good” of this improvement, but what if it turns out senior management is scared of the idea?
  • How else can things go wrong? What are the consequences if we misstep in our attempts to improve culture? How difficult is it to course-correct? Will there be damage to our reputation and future consequences like promotion blockage?  


    • Useful Links:  


    HBR article we reference: https://hbr.org/2015/11/how-company-culture-shapes-employee-motivation  


    OpEx Society: https://www.opexsociety.org 


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