Continuing the study of QBQ by John Miller, looking at
chapters 16-23.
Unfortunately I was unable to attend the actual discussion over this section so this is a summary of the information from these chapters which stood out to me.
Culture is one of those nebulous terms which everyone uses but when push comes to shove is difficult to pin down with an exact definition. We say things like "that's part of our culture," or "we need to change our culture," often with specific attitudes or actions in mind which conform to our impression of who "we" are. This is my metaphor for culture: My perception of myself and my likely response/attitude is my "culture." For my family, culture means, to me, the things that we as a family are likely to do/say or the attitudes which we are most likely to display. When our children act outside this "culture" we say to them, "that may be how others behave, but that is not who WE are," and so we mold and reinforce our family's culture. For an organization the establishment and reinforcement of culture follows this same model, usually built of the shared personal "cultures" of the individuals who compose the organization.
When I read this quote at the end of chapter 18, "Ownership: 'A commitment of the head, heart, and hands to fix the problem and never affix the blame'" I hear "this is our culture," (or at least what I want to reinforce to become our culture).
This whole section resonates with "culture" both for who I want to be as an individual and what I want for my organization; and it starts with me. That is why I believe that our corporate culture is an amalgamation of our individual "cultures." In becoming a better, more responsible ME, I contribute to a better more responsible company. I'm part of the solution . . . or part of the problem. Miller says: "Change only comes from the inside, as a result of decisions made by the individual."
Chapter 23 focuses on integrity and I will contribute more on that topic with the next post on this study.
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