Andy Wright: ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’

The words in the above title were attributed to globally respected management guru Peter Drucker, and although there is some debate as to whether he did say these words, if we imagine that he did, what did he mean by them?

I don’t think that he was saying that having a strategy is unimportant or a secondary consideration, rather that a strong and positive culture was the best way to guarantee success in business over the long term, as teams that are fully aligned and believe in what they are jointly trying to achieve and why they are doing it can overcome any and all challenges.

Andy Wright, executive chair, Vital Power Group

Culture is a difficult concept to explain as it’s intangible and you can’t touch or feel it, although you can sense it when you are in a business that has a strong culture, both good and bad.

The best definition of culture for me is ‘the way we do things around here’ and I have always believed that the rental industry has a very positive and strong culture, and it’s because of this that it’s generally successful at retaining a particular type of person. In my experience, first-time entrants into the rental sector either love it or hate it and consequently, either stay forever or leave very quickly.

Cultural fit

That’s why the recruitment and on-boarding process is so critical when deciding to bring fresh blood into the rental space. It’s very easy to get it wrong and bring the wrong type of person into the business and unintentionally end up in a lose-lose scenario, wasting time, money and potentially derailing an individual’s career progression.

Not to mention the impact on customer service if the wrong person is tasked with a front-line, customer-facing role, and the obvious knock-on impact on revenue and profitability.

The concept of ‘cultural fit’ is very important and is one that should be considered in many business-related situations. From the fit of a new person joining the current organization, or the fit of an organization that we might be about to acquire, the way that the organization or individual will integrate themselves into the existing business is fundamental to the likelihood of success.

So, what do I mean by cultural fit?

Let me start by saying what I don’t mean by the term ‘cultural fit’. I don’t mean that we should hire a person on the basis that their ‘personality’ is similar to our own. We all have hired people ‘in our own image’ and whilst this creates an enjoyable, comfortable working environment, it doesn’t necessarily improve the quality of the team.

It’s important to consider the make up of the team and the diversity within it and to compare all of this against what you need the team to achieve.

So, when I talk about cultural fit, I’m not talking about building a team full of ‘mini me’s’, I’m referring to hiring people and acquiring businesses that have the same core values, attitudes and motivations as the rest of the business.

It’s about matching these attributes and being confident that there is a good degree of alignment across them, and when this is achieved you can achieve a good level of cultural fit and the odds are that you will find greater success.

Look beneath the surface

People with different backgrounds and personalities, who may not at first viewing be an obvious choice for the role, can be awesome at doing the job that needs to be done and it’s only through probing beneath the surface that we can get a true view of the cultural match.

To achieve this, we need to get beneath the superficial level of CVs, engage a range of managers in the hiring process, to get a fully rounded view of the person, and it’s helpful to ‘always be in a recruiting’ mindset.

It’s only through probing beneath the surface during recruitment that it’s possible to get a true view of the cultural match between an individual and an organization.

This is something that I have adopted to great effect in the past. If talented, motivated people who are a good cultural fit for the organization become available, then you must move mountains to ensure that you’re able to secure them.

Building the right culture in any organization is the most critical responsibility of the leader and their leadership team, and you can spend time to develop the best strategy in the world but that won’t guarantee success without shared values and strong cultural alignment throughout the business.

IRN columnist Andy Wright, formerly CEO of Sunbelt Rentals UK, is the executive chair of Coventry-based power specialist Vital Power Group.