The Character of your Organisation
As organisations grow they develop a character of their own. Sometimes this is deliberate sometimes not.
It is not unusual for organisations to have 'difficult people' in them. People whose conduct, standards or behaviour is different to most others or doesn't fit with where the organisation is now. Working with and managing some of these difficult people can be disruptive, stressful, demotivational and resource consuming.
Organisations that have clear codes of behaviour tend to attract and retain people who can relate to that code. Often seen as an organisational ethos, ethic or philosophy those organisations seen to have it are also seen as 'the' place to work, where people are productive and happy.
Google is an example. You can see more about their workplace culture at www.google.com and click on 'Culture'. Google is consistently at the top end of the Fortune 100 best companies to work for.
Does your organisation have an easily recognisable character, a code of conduct that both clearly identifies it to others and is second nature to those who work there?
Connecting Culture and Strategy
In the first chapter of Sun Tzu's book on strategy, 'Bing-fa' or 'military methods', the five elements of analysis, philosophy; climate; ground; leader and methods provides a basic key to understanding your position. Culture and conduct bridge those five elements and provide a focus.
In chapter 4 on Positioning, Sun Tzu said
"Know yourself and know your enemy.
You will be safe in every battle."
History Leaves Footprints
Codes have been the basis of success for thousands of years. Whilst everything erodes over time, cultures, civilisations, armies, groups and businesses that have lasted for significant periods have always had a code or philosophy that people could identify with and live up to.
The Samurai had their code of Bushido, which held them together for hundreds of years. It may have been violent in some respects in todays terms, but it was balanced and honourable - and it worked. The same can be said of Knightly Chivalry in England and Europe.
People Conflict
Many organisations move forward without really 'knowing themselves' or at least not having secured elements of their current position, weakening their position and reducing their likelihood of success. People often pick fights that prove to be costly, often these are internal fights resulting from people's behaviour.
Classical Strategy would advocate winning without fighting as often as possible. Conflict is costly and always weakens resources. You can have good recruitment practices; good human resources; compliance with regulations - and yet have internal dis-ease.
Win without fighting those who don't fit by having such a clear culture that it becomes self-selecting both for prospective employees and for existing staff. Help yourself and your managers manage more effectively by removing ambiguity, defining what is acceptable and what is not.
Have people focusing collectively on where they and the organisation are going not on distracting internal conflicts.
Contact us for more information about how you can use the power of codes of conduct to get more of your people pulling together in the same direction and in reducing staff and management conflict, staff turnover and cost. 