Culture Eats Strategy — But Not the Way You Think

The quote is everywhere: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." It is attributed to Peter Drucker, though the Drucker Institute has actually denied he ever said it. What Drucker did write, in a 1991 Wall Street Journal article, was something more nuanced: "Culture — however defined — is remarkably persistent." Not nearly as catchy, but considerably more accurate.

Many people misinterpret the famous version to mean that if the culture is right, everything will be fine and the strategy will take care of itself. But the opposite is true.

Strategy is essential; there is no way around it. The focus must be on whether strategy and culture go hand in hand.

When culture blocks strategy

If you have a strategy that points to the need for innovation, digitalisation and new thinking, it is no use being an organisation where no one dares to take a chance and where paperwork and control are more prevalent than trust and experimentation. The culture will sabotage even the best-formulated strategy.

This is why Strategy is Tangible places great emphasis on values and owner/manager preferences as part of the internal analysis. If you ignore the cultural dimension, you are building your strategy on sand.

Avoid strategy with strategy

Another common trap: after a strategy process, everyone grabs hold of the result and thinks they should develop a strategy for their part of the business. Sub-strategies proliferate. They take on a life of their own, with their own focus, pulling in all directions — which in the worst case undermines the overall strategy.

The recommendation is clear: there is only one strategy in your organisation. Everything else is about how individual departments understand the strategy and describe how they will contribute. Not sub-strategies, but strategic sub-action plans. Words matter.

Set people free

The book borrows a concept from military doctrine: Auftragstaktik, or Mission Command. The top leader clearly explains the intention behind the strategy and defines the framework. Individual managers and employees then describe how they understand the strategy and what they intend to do. The leader checks alignment, then gives freedom to execute.

"The best leader is one who has enough sense to choose good people to do what he wants done, and enough self-control to avoid interfering while they do it." — Franklin D. Roosevelt