Episode 204 -- The Way Forward on Corporate Culture

The culture bandwagon is picking up steam.  Everyone is citing its organization’s “culture” as the foundation for its activities in the hope of meeting a rapidly evolving standard for organizations.  In its latest corporate compliance guidance, the Justice Department, along with numerous regulatory agencies continue to cite the importance of a company’s  “culture of compliance.”

But when it comes to defining the terms, how to manage a company’s culture and how to measure, monitor and measure a company’s culture – everyone responds with a blank stare.  That is when we hear the Justice Potter Stewart famous definition of obscenity, “I know it when I see it.”

To provide my own perspective on some of these issues, I am dedicating this podcast episode to corporate culture.  My answers may not be “correct” or even “persuasive,” but the dialogue has to begin.  I have long advocated for practical approaches to defining, managing and maintaining a company’s culture.  As I often write, culture is a company’s most important “internal control.”