Whether it’s across an entire organization or with a local team, culture change is a hot issue these days. For good reason; culture trumps strategy, structure, processes, or technology. We have long defined culture as “the way we do things around here.” A team or organizational culture heavily influences what’s acceptable and unacceptable behavior. And those influences can be incredibly subtle and little recognized.

Don Borsk is an exceptionally strong leader who understands the power of culture and how management behaviors influence it. I wrote about The CLEMMER Group’s experiences in helping him and his team revitalize Supply Chain Management’s (they operate Wal-Mart’s Canadian distribution centres) in the May 2004 issue of The Leader Letter. To read it go to https://www.clemmergroup.com/newsl/may2004pf.html and scroll down to “Leading a High Performance Culture: Balancing Processes and People.”

A few years ago, Scott Schweyer and I worked with Don and his new team as he established a new culture from scratch at his new company; Metro Retail Supply Chain Solutions. Last spring I again had the pleasure of co-presenting with Don Borsk at Supply Chain & Logistics Canada’s annual conference. You can view a 10 minute clip of the two main elements to cultural leadership that I outlined following Don’s overview of what his company did to build a very high-performing culture. Click here to view the clip and to peruse a series of articles Scott Schweyer and I have written on culture change.