A Matter of Convergence
Companies need to build and grow their corporate culture in sync with the values they project.
BUILDING A GREAT COMPANY from inside out is a mammoth task, but in her latest book Fusion..., author Denise Lee Yohn has apparently decoded how culture-building can lead to corporate success. Unlike many who have churned out countless books on leadership, brands and company culture, Yohn believes in a cohesive blueprint that aligns a business’s brand image with its internal values. It is easier said than done as what is perceived externally is not always in sync with what is done internally. But based on her experience working with storied brands for more than two decades and a half, the author makes a strong point why this fusion is the ‘X’ factor that creates most valued companies.
Packed with case studies (cover brands such as Airbnb, Adobe, Nike, Salesforce, MGM Resorts and more), interviews with industry leaders, research findings and the author’s professional experience, the book examines links between brand and culture, and underlines strategies that will help integrate both to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. But before that, a brand must identify what it wants to be – innovative, disruptive, serviceoriented, value-driven, performancefocussed or experiential – and why it’s out there. ‘ Why’ is the essential differentiator followed by ‘ how’.
Yohn focusses on three basic doables for the transformation. Determine the core values; assess the organisation’s brand-culture fusion; and lead the change. The strategies to achieve these again speak of age-old wisdom. Set up policies and procedures to build the culture and keep the momentum going. Also, take care of the small stuff, the routine things that are rarely noticed but often symbolise the company’s value system. Next in order is leveraging people power. Engage employees at all levels – communicate with them, train them and help them learn. It will change employee experience and give them a better insight into what the company stands for.
Overall, a well-written, useful book that might help companies grow by harnessing two powerful business drivers, brand and culture. Whether businesses – big, small, start-ups and even non-profits – will embrace the transformation, remains to be seen.
The reviewer is Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Holidays, and founder, Think as Consumer