Process Versus Culture

by James Gaskin

November 13, 2007 —

Contrasting Andi Mann's "culture of security" discussion last time
is Michael Dortch's homily that "culture beats process every time."
You can see Dortch explaining this during a presentation I filmed of him
here.

Yes, the title says virtualization, but Dortch sprinkles knowledge nuggets all
through the presentation about all manner of situations.

Think about your business, and you'll immediately agree Dortch's quote fits.
Let's quote Forrest Gump: "Stupid is as stupid does." If that's not
a slam against idiot vice presidents saying "we've always done things this
way," I don't know what is. Or, if you're more scientific, remember physics
class and the lesson teaching inertia is the strongest physical force. Which
brings us back to Forrest Gump and stupid is as stupid does.

The reason many application vendors say "this needs executive buy-in to
be successful" is because culture changes come from the top down, not the
bottom up. This also reflects the reality that dysfunctional corporate cultures
aren't the result of bad drinking water but a company full of executives who
drink the Kool Aid from the CEO and/or founder. Bad ideas, like waste products,
flow downhill.

Rarely, culture changes from the bottom up. This happens when the foundation,
provided by employees lead by lower ranking executives, shift to something smarter.
IT can be blamed for plenty, but the noble goals of enhanced communications
and collaboration always come from IT, never areas like HR or sales. Providing
tools for communication, such as the traditional e-mail result that flattens
the hierarchy, will change the culture. Publicly viewable collaboration tools,
such as internal blogs and wikis, accelerate this process.

Collaboration tools, both inside the company and outside, together with federal
regulations demanding more executive accountability, will slowly change this
culture. Help speed things up.

Provide a foundation for public collaboration inside the company to better
identify the idiots. Start posting appropriate Computerworld Shark Bait columns
alongside the Dilbert cartoons. Treat SOX as your friend rather than a busywork
exercise. Cleaning moldy corporate culture requires daylight and bleach. Even
if you can't pour bleach on the idiot vice presidents ruining your corporate
culture, you can expose them. Public exposure kills moldy corporate thinking
and rejuvenates your culture, giving process a fair chance.

Dortch video

ITworld.com