A Day In The Life of the CCO: A Chief Culture Officer To-Do List
We can’t assume the culture is on auto-pilot. We need to do regular pulse-checks with our people. In an era of technology, processes, and systems… in a lifetime that has become app-driven, we have to protect the humanity of our companies. Our employees need to know we are checking the heartbeat of the organization on a regular basis, and that means gauging the happiness, engagement, and emotional health of those that support us.
Thank you Successful Culture Supporters! Leaders don’t start Movements….Courageous Followers start Movements!
Leaders are known to start movements. However, it isn’t really the leader that starts the movement of a new way of thinking, being, or doing. Rather, it is the follower.
The first follower is what transforms a lone nut into a leader.
Culture Spotlight: Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (Join Us October 11th for Back-to-School Back-to-Business!)
Founded in New York City in 1987 by Steve Mariotti, a former entrepreneur turned high school math teacher in the South Bronx, NFTE began as a program to prevent dropouts and improve academic performance among students who were at risk of failing or quitting school.
Combining his business background with his desire to teach at-risk students, Steve discovered that when young people from low-income communities are given the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, their innate “street smarts” can easily develop into “academic smarts” and “business smarts.” Through entrepreneurship, young people discover that what they are learning in the classroom is relevant to the real world.
Finding Faith, Purpose, and Meaning In Steve Jobs’ Life and Death
Everyone knew that Steve Jobs was terminally ill. Yet the concept of his death still eluded most of us. Steve’s vision and leadership was a mega-watt light that inspired, connected, and lifted us all. He made technology interesting, desirable, and accessible to everyone from 8-88 years old.
Do Employees Make Your System Smarter? Or Is It The Other Way Around?
What’s the smartest and strongest aspect of your organization? Is it your employees, or is it your organization?
If you follow the thinking of the spectacularly failed Enron Corporation, who religiously subscribed to the belief that having better talent at all levels is how you outperform, then you put most of your stock in the strength of your people. At the height of its hiring frenzy, Enron was bringing on 250 newly minted Ivy League MBA’s a year, grossly overpaying them, giving them Carte Blanche to pursue strategic ideas, and catering to their every professional demand.
What Is Your Family’s Culture?
What family legacy are you creating? What words would a stranger use to describe your family if they met you for the first time? More importantly, what words would your kids use to describe your family?
Many business leaders build vision statements and a core value system for their organizations. They have clearly defined rules of engagement, and roles & responsibilities for key players. They reward achievement and performance, and penalize for performance infractions.
Culture of Greatness Begins Within You
To perform at a level of greatness, we need to commit to a higher level of energy, time, and effort than most. To quote Gandhi, “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world, as in being able to remake ourselves.”
We all have the power to lead our business, our family, and ourselves in greatness. To accomplish this, we have to plan.
Five Non-Negotiable Elements of a Culture
These five non-negotiable elements are all required tools for any company that wants to maximize the potential of its most valued asset, which is its people. How well does your company do with each one? What are some of the non-negotiable elements of your organization?
