At the moment your company has certain stories that define your culture. Like the woman you forced to work on her wedding day. You
may not be proud of it, but it's the story you tell. It's the story employees tell about your company. If your culture is all wrong then the stories people tell about you will be wrong as well.
How do you change the stories about your company?
To change the culture of your company to something that represents where you want it to be you have to do dramatic things to change the stories people tell about the company. So if you want to create an employee focused culture, instead of making the bride work on their wedding day, give them the week off to help them start their married life in style.
There will also be people in your company that embody the culture you wish for your company. Use them as the story.
What stories do people tell about your company?
Comments
A slightly different slant, but if you've read the FiSH books or followed the FiSH philosophy, they use real life stories to demonstrate the positive impact people can make in organisations.
The change in culture changed the stories people told about the ward and therefore how others perceived the ward!
It's starting from a slightly different point, but with the same philosophy and results.
Have read Fish, seen the video, and read fish tales etc. They are great and have used them to help a firm change their culture by getting everyone to read it and then facilitate some getting started session.
Back to Adi's point though, company stories are important - they are the stuff of legends and last forever so it is important to get them right.
Interestingly, the question not posed is how they get started and by whom. Doing the right things may be not enough in itself - someone needs to spread the word!
I would suspect that a great number of the stories emanate from current or past employees.
I find that stories of remorse and selflessness on behalf of management spread just as well as those bitchy stories/rumours of a dodgy redundancy or an arguement that was once held in the boardroom. So firms should take advantage of this.