Success is in the culture – Lessons learned from EFQM Forum 2019

Innovation and disruption are keywords that saturate our speech and publications when it comes to business. Businesses are under constant pressure to innovate, but are they intentionally designed to do so? And what would it take to create an organization with the inherent ability to innovate and transform?

Let’s go through some key findings of EFQM Forum 2019.

Own your culture

Culture – it’s where leaders place the biggest emphasis when talking about innovation, transformation and performance. Culture is what shapes thinking, builds attitude and impacts action.

Culture is also what holds back innovation. Teams create disruptive ideas when they’re nourished by psychological safety, but these same ideas are killed when companies focus on protecting their old ways. Through protectionism, success is turned into mediocracy – or worse. The challenge is to create a culture that supports company’s goals. But how?

Create

Take leadership and own your culture. Harness it to serve as a strategic tool. Company’s unique culture should be designed with intention and embedded into all processes.

Manage

Culture is cultivated through common practices and experiences. Embrace fast failures and accept failure as the greatest teacher for the whole business.

Enhance

Culture is cultivated through common practices and experiences. Embrace fast failures and accept failure as the greatest teacher for the whole business.

From keywords to actions

Culture is what drives performance. So don’t tell people they need to innovate. Instead create a cultural environment that inspires them to act.