There is no company today that isn't trying to improve their business.  But most of them fail to achieve lasting results.  As the old saying goes, everybody knows the words to the song but nobody wants to sing.  How can that be?

In 1995 a landmark article was published in the Harvard Business Review by Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter in which he outlined the mistakes made by companies that fail to produce results from a transformational effort.  Error #8, Not Anchoring Changes in the Corporation's Culture, is among the most cited reasons for failing.  It seems that what Professor Kotter is saying is that even when there is a strong sense of urgency and the company leadership believes that change is not optional, the bedrock of behaviors can be unyielding. 

A company culture is simply the full range of learned human behaviors.  And what is done in small ways on a daily basis can have more influence on those behaviors than even the most reasoned and passionate argument for change.   Clearly, to anchor a new way in the corporation's culture means learning new behaviors in the daily routine of how work is done.  More...

Richard Abercrombie is an experienced consultant who specializes in the basics of daily work routine management. 
He can be contacted at 206-406-8209 or richard.abercrombie@lean-promotion.com