We are living in a .com world. The old rules are changing, but it is not yet clear what the new rules are. Everything is in flux, and the speed and complexity of the changes are difficult for many of us to absorb. Futurists, historians, and social scientists tell us the transition to a networked economy is the biggest shift in the way the world functions since the Industrial Revolution. The people working today are the bridge generation, spanning the gap between the old and new ways of doing business.
The business and professional world is working feverishly to learn how to change its business strategies to capitalize on this .com world. A great deal of attention is directed at the external business issues of designing, marketing, selling, and delivering goods and services in the networked environment. But the internal infrastructure and culture changes that are needed to deliver on those new business strategies have received very little attention so far.
Culture.com tackles the question of how to create a corporate culture that matches the new .com business strategy. It explains how a company' s internal culture must adapt to complement, support, and be properly aligned with the organization's external business strategy. And it shows how failure to adapt can undermine, or even destroy, a company's ability to carry out its objectives.
Culture.com is a highly practical guide to the pressing corporate culture issues that face every e-business, from .com start-ups to traditional organizations making the transition into the clicks-and-mortar world.
- Explains the 9 key characteristics of a .com culture that are vital for all organizations.
- Offers practical tips and strategies to ensure that your corporate culture can be a competitive advantage, rather than a liability, in the .com world.
- Provides hands-on advice on changing your corporate culture to reflect the new realities of e-business: debugging on the fly, rapid risk taking and decision making, developing a culture of collaboration, building corporate culture in virtual organizations, and much more.
- Shows how to break old organizational habits that no longer fit in the world of e-business, and how to learn now ways to think, believe, and behave.
- Features examples and interviews from a wide range of companies, government settings, and not-for-profits.
Praise for Culture.com
"What a simple, yet profound, understanding of culture This is a wise, practical and important guide in navigating today's 'dot com' whitewater world."
-- Dr. Stephen R. Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
"At last someone has paid attention to that most powerful force called 'culture' at just the right time. As has always been the case, either we manage culture or it manages us. As we go deeper into this new world of bricks and clicks, it is imperative that we rededicate ourselves to the creation and survival of exceptional business cultures."
-- Jim Hammock, CEO and Chairman, Hire.com
"Fast-paced and readable, Culture.com combines examples from successful .com companies with practical tips to guide executives struggling to build lasting corporations in the virtual settings of the global economy. The authors are well ahead of most business school research."
-- David O. Porter, Professor of Management and former Dean, School of Management, University of Alaska, Fairbanks; Founding Director of the Idaho Department of Commerce
"Competing in the e-business world requires companies to shape their corporate culture to implement their business strategies. The authors of Culture.com have recognized this reality and provide practical tips, real-world stories, and smart guidance vital to executives, managers, and employees alike."
-- J.W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Marriott International
"Culture.com is a much-needed, practical, and complete guide to help companies make the transition in today's workplace in order to survive and succeed. Focusing on the use of every individual's creative power, talents, and experience has been lacking, is needed, and this book shows the way."
-- John D. Baker, President, John D. Baker & Associates, and retired Vice President, Commercial, Mars, Inc.
"With the speed and complexity of the business environment today, Culture.com is a lighthouse beacon offering direction out of the fog and uncertainty. It provides all of us who are journeying to new places a solid bearing and sage advice to chart a safe course."
-- Janice Wismer, Vice President, Human Resources, Canadian Tire Retail
"No matter where you are in an organization, or who you work for, having a 'living' corporate culture in place that supports the values of what you believe in-and is demonstrated every day in your actions-is key to the degree of your success. It is the deciding factor between just succeeding, and being great. Developing and living those values that are at the core of your culture, is the challenge we all face. It requires continuous learning and change. Culture.com can help you with this."
-- Bruce Freeman, Vice President and Information Officer, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
Peg Neuhauser has worked for over eighteen years as a speaker and organizational consultant, specializing in the areas of organizational culture, communication, and conflict management. Her company, PCN Associates works with clients in many industries, including high-tech, health care, finance, and publishing. Peg completed studies in the United States and England with an M.A. in psychology and undergraduate work in sociology. She is the author of two other books, Tribal Warfare in Organizations and Corporate Legends and Lore: The Power of Storytelling as a Management Tool. Ray Bender, Ph.D. is a speaker and consultant specializing in alliances, leadership, and organizational change. Prior to establishing his own company, he was a Vice President and Research Director for executive programs at the Gartner Group, where he was responsible for setting the research agenda to support the issues of Chief Information Officers of large North American organizations. Prior to joining Gartner Group, he was a Consulting Instructor at IBM's Advanced Business Institute. He has a B.S. in History and Sociology, an M.S. in Industrial Administration, and a Ph.D. in Management. Ray is a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff Course and a retired Army Colonel. Kirk L. Stromberg is the managing partner of the StarCompass Group, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in organizational and individual change. Previously, he was an executive at the senior management level at AARP responsible for strategic planning, several major change initiatives, and management of its research and training operations. He was also a lobbyist at the state and federal levels for two major associations and an Operations Officer in the clandestine services of the CIA.
