It might seem odd to think of Kings and Queens on a site dedicated to business culture, but imagining no limitations is an excellent technique for brainstorming breakthroughs. I give people magic wands to change their lives, but when it comes to running a nation, imagining being a King or Queen gives people the feeling of absolute power over courts, legislators, and bureaucracies. If you could run your country, with absolute, and hopefully benign, power, what would you do?

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It’s easy for leaders to get caught in the nets of minutia. Every six months is an excellent interval for rising above the shore and focusing your gaze on the horizon.

The data from a Culture Tune Up^TM provides an accurate perceptual reflection. That’s right, “accurate perceptions”.

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Cultural variables are interdependent.  An organization is a fruit salad of systems, structures, processes, beliefs, values, attitudes, and capabilities. Here is an example of a client’s summary results. 

The Engaging Change^TM survey results are summarized in eight areas.  The survey actually collects information on the 17 variables known to affect financial results.  About 50 multiple choice questions provide the raw data.  Of course, statistically verifiably bad data is removed  After viewing the summary, we dive down into the details, where there are weaknesses.  I prefer to work through top down, then bottom up.  In other words, I see the big picture from the 8 areas, and then look at the summaries of all the individual questions.  I then look at different combinations of questions, the 17 variables, to look for interesting patterns that aid my understanding of the organization. 

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All participants need to know you want their help, so it’s best to think of this as a project, beginning with a launch meeting.  What do you say?  Tell them the story about to unfold.  What will they experience, in what order, to create what result.  For example,

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Neither individuals nor groups can make intelligent decisions without a foundation of facts. There are many variables of culture that affect revenue, costs, profits, employee loyalty, customer satisfaction, rate of return, and shareholders’ value. The idea is to collect data within your organization (team, group, division, function, enterprise) on these cultural variables to form a baseline, a starting point, for initiating improvement.

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