Culture Shift: A Practical Guide to Managing Organizational Culture

by Kirsty Bashforth

Overview

Culture Shift is a practical guide to using behavioral economics to change organizational culture effectively and sustainably, putting culture at the core of running the business.

Nowadays, stakeholder consideration focuses as much on an organization's culture as it does on the bottom line—employees want to work for a company that has clear values and an engaging environment; customers and clients want to know they're supporting a worthwhile brand; and investors look to back socially responsible companies with good organizational health.

Too often, too many businesses see culture change as a project with a defined end point—once the project is considered "done," the dominant culture re-emerges and things go back to how they were. Culture Shift guides organizations on how to do things differently, ensuring that culture really does shift (with minimal budget and no external consultants) and putting culture permanently at the core of running the business.

Founded on behavioral economics, Culture Shift recognizes that people do not always make average assumptions or follow rational logic. Changing a culture, therefore, is not about telling people what to do and expecting them to fall neatly in line—it's about identifying where they are now and how they make decisions, in order to help them form new habits to create a comprehensive, sustainable culture shift.

Using her extensive experience, Kirsty Bashforth outlines exactly what it takes to oversee sustainable culture change in an organization, blending practical tips and illustrative stories throughout the book to drive home key points and provide a variety of perspectives and possible outcomes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472966209
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/08/2019
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Kirsty Bashforth is CEO of QuaryFive Ltd, advising CEOs on change, organizational performance and leadership, with clients including: Mizuho International, Centrica, BP and the NHS. Previously, she was Global Corporate Executive with BP, designing and delivering the shift in the company's organizational culture for 5 years from 2010.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Note from the author xv

Introduction - What is culture? 1

Part 1 Why bother 5

1 The biggest levers 9

2 Putting off the inevitable 11

3 Getting your head around it 13

4 All the time, or a moment in time? 23

5 Alignment, alignment, alignment - I'll say that again - alignment 29

6 Sorry, what's the question again? 35

Part 2 Setting it up 37

7 Vital ingredients 39

8 Stopping before starting 57

9 Turning everything on its head 65

Part 3 The hard yards 81

10 A long, hard look in the mirror 83

11 Working out what you need from what you have 103

12 Tuning in 129

13 Adjusting the focus 143

14 Shape-shifting and the life of a chameleon 161

15 Like a stuck record 185

16 Filling buckets not spreadsheets 191

Part 4 Getting to the other side 203

17 Aren't we done yet? 205

18 What we really meant was… 211

19 Once the adrenalin rush subsides 219

20 Stepping away and back (though possibly read this at the very start) 227

Part 5 Book on a page 245

Part 6 Epilogue 249

Part 7 Acknowledgements 253

Index 257

Editorial Reviews

The mix of personal experience and straight-talking advice creates a vital handbook for anyone taking on the task of managing culture.” —Sunny Varkey, Founder of GEMS Education and Varkey Foundation

“I taught culture at a business school for years, and always felt that I was about to get found out, because all the models I came across sounded plausible but simply didn't work. I wish I'd had this book, and I wish I'd written it. Bravo – it should be issued to all new leaders along with their security pass on day one.” —Eve Poole, author of Leadersmithing

“Culture is so fundamental to performance, and yet working to improve it often attracts myth, mystery and scepticism. Seen on the one hand as the intangible soft stuff, or on the other as something simplistically to be fixed, neither approach will be successful. This book finds a way through the middle, based on real experience and outcomes. It's straight talking, realistic and refreshingly honest. If you are approaching the topic of driving change through culture, start here with this book. It will help you make sense of a topic so often avoided, yet so essential to grasp.” —Iain Conn, CEO of Centrica Plc

“One person's logic is not another's – a key premise of this accessible book that unpicks why you can't simply announce the culture you want, and expect to create it. It takes time, effort, balance and a healthy dose of pig-headedness. Wonderful, original stuff.” —Charlie Hodgson, Team and Leadership Coach

From the Publisher