Throughout human history, people have developed strong loyalties to traditions, rituals, and symbols. In the most effective organizations, they are not only respected but celebrated. It is no coincidence that the most highly admired corporations are also among the most profitable.
Interpretation
Traditions and symbols foster loyalty and success within organizations.
This quote highlights the importance of traditions, rituals, and symbols in organizations, suggesting that those who honor and celebrate these aspects create a strong sense of loyalty among members. Moreover, it emphasizes that organizations that effectively leverage these cultural elements tend to achieve higher levels of admiration and profitability, indicating a correlation between a positive organizational culture and successful outcomes.
In practice
In a business presentation discussing the importance of organizational culture.
Tribalism reflects strong ethnic or cultural identities that separate members of one group from another, making them loyal to people like them and suspicious of outsiders, which undermines efforts to forge common cause across groups.
Organizational structures that allow divisions and departments to own their turf and people with long tenure to take root creates the same hardened group distinctions as Congressional redistricting to produce homogeneous voting blocs - all of which makes it easier to resist compromise, let alone collaboration.
The way innovating companies are designed leaves ambiguities, overlaps, decision conflicts or decision vacuums in some parts of the organisation. People rail at this, curse it-and invent innovative ways to overcome it.
The boomers' biggest impact will be on eliminating the term 'retirement' and inventing a new stage of life... the new career arc.
The middle of every successful project looks like a disaster.
I've found that small wins, small projects, small differences often make huge differences.
The best general is the one who never fights.
A leader, first and foremost, is human. Only when we have the strength to show our vulnerability can we truly lead.
Exercising leadership is an expression of your aliveness... But when you cover yourself up, you risk losing something as well. In the struggle to save yourself, you can give up too many of those qualities that are the essence of being alive, like innocence, curiosity, and compassion.
Do not tolerate brilliant jerks. The cost to teamwork is too high.
We never used to blink at taking a leadership role in the world. And we understood leadership often required something other than drones and bombs. We accepted global leadership not just for humanitarian reasons, but also because it was in our own best interest. We knew we couldn't isolate ourselves from trouble. There was no place to hide.
As leaders, we owe it to every employee to let them know where they stand in the organization.
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