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28 April 2010

Comments

Cheri Corrado

Great topic! Culture in any organization seems to be an actively growing and transforming organism. As new people are added it may move in another direction or expand on the direction it's going. So while the newcomers could use help understanding the current culture, those already immersed should be looking at the newcomers as indication of where it may be going. One "jerk" (keeping it clean, contrary to Bob's preference) entering the mix may require the current "guard" to defend the culture they want to keep. One positively charged person can move the culture in a more positive direction. Together the new and the "old" seem to redefine the culture. Perhaps when that happens, it creates fresh eyes seeing the culture that presently is.

David McGinnis

to DO it is one thing, to partake in the new POV is a little different. For example, I just had 6 Georgia Tech students working for me, and they were encouraged to be candid about explaining their perception of our culture. They were not whacked on the head when the told us our shortcomings, so the new POV was continued. Near the end of the semester, one of the cultural enlightenments came through their professor. The students didn't tell us directly because they didn't see it as pertinent.
What did they notice? Everybody in the office is on a first name basis. Even the Senior Vice Presidents are called by their first name, and it is not disrespectful. I didn't realize that this simple of a gesture helps define the culture and made the students feel right at home when they could call our SVP of Manufacturing "Paul."

So: being open to others' observations is a round-about way to keep fresh eyes.

staffaction

reminds of me Woodlief's line: "Be in but not of your organization."

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