“More men are killed by overwork than the importance of the world justifies.” – Rudyard Kipling OK, here we go – another message on how we all work too much, where we promote a culture where working is 90% of what we should be doing 24/7 if we’re going to be successful. Otherwise, our peers … Read more
Culture—the way people think, behave, and work in an organization—is difficult to control. Thankfully, that’s not what our model asks of leaders. Leaders of an “All In” culture seek to influence culture versus controlling it. Because we humans are complex animals, developing (and maintaining) a culture of excellence is time-consuming, challenging work. Leadership is the … Read more
A Level Five Culture in Antarctica? Yes, as unusual as it sounds. In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton, British explorer, embarked on an expedition to traverse Antarctica. His recruiting ad in The London Times read: “Men wanted: For hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and … Read more
The development of strong mutual accountability is one of the most significant stages of the cultural development of an organization. Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright describe the stages of accountability and explain how we, as people, are essentially tribal in their book, Tribal Leadership. The authors developed the book as the result of … Read more
I didn’t always understand what a great culture looked like. In fact, as a young West Point cadet and later as an Army officer, I only had a vague notion of what a culture was at all. We had a set way of doing things, to be sure, but it was pretty much taken for … Read more
By now, you’ve seen the term Level 5 used a lot around here. It’s even in our name! You might be wondering what we mean by Level 5. Here’s some explanation. Over the course of four decades, I’ve been exposed to each of the five levels of culture described below. For brevity’s sake, I’ve given … Read more
