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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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The Culture Engine summary
S. Chris Edmonds
A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace
4.1 (35 ratings)
13 mins
5 key ideas
Audio & text
What is The Culture Engine about?
The Culture Engine (2014) is a guide to creating an inspirational workplace by revolutionizing the culture of your organization. These blinks will walk you through the process of designing, implementing and managing an organizational constitution to guide and transform any group.
About the Author
Chris Edmonds is the founder and CEO of an organizational culture consulting firm called The Purposeful Culture Group. He is a prolific author and an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Business.
©[S. Chris Edmond: The Culture Engine] copyright [2014], John Wiley & Sons [Inc. or Ltd. as applicable] Used by permission of John Wiley & Sons [Inc. or Ltd. as applicable] and shall not be made available to any unauthorized third parties.
Table of Contents
The Culture Engine
summarized in 5 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 5
Revolutionize your work culture with an organizational constitution.
Want to revolutionize your work culture and transform your business? Start by writing an organizational constitution – a formal document that sets out the core principles of your company or team.
Here’s how it works:
Organizational constitutions lay out specific rights for employees and standards for them to follow. Think of it like the rules of the road, guidelines you use to navigate an ambiguous situation and govern your behavior.
For instance, when arguing with a colleague, it’s easy to go too far and insult them. But if your organizational constitution includes a zero-tolerance policy for rude conduct between co-workers, you would likely choose your words more carefully.
But an organizational constitution should also answer important questions: What are our company goals? What performance targets can help us meet them? And what are our standards for how we treat each other?
For example, when Tony Hsieh founded the online shoe store Zappos, his intention was for the company to have a fun, familial atmosphere. To facilitate this, he defined ten values that would form the basis of the company culture.
Here’s why an organizational constitution is essential for your business:
Without an agreement to guide it, your company will struggle to develop a good work culture, and your organization’s culture has a huge impact on its success.
Take Zappos’ renowned customer service. Since Zappos’ employees like their jobs, they’re full of enthusiasm, which they then pass on to their customers. The customers then associate this enthusiasm with Zappos, which is a big plus for the company. In fact, Amazon cited Zappos’ great office culture as a major incentive for purchasing the company in 2009.
Zappos owes their culture to their constitution, because when there’s a formal agreement governing how people are treated, everyone feels safe, respected and engaged with their work. And engaged employees are better employees: a 2013 Gallup study found that engaged workers are more productive, with less turnover, fewer accidents and better customer satisfaction.
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Best quote from The Culture Engine
Its not what you do; its why you do it that is important. - Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz
—S. Chris Edmonds
Who should read The Culture Engine
- CEOs who want to revolutionize their company culture
- Leaders looking to inspire their teams
- Organizations that want to transform their approach to work
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