There have been a long standing debate about what matters more to a company's success: Culture or Strategy. There is also the famous Peter Drucker quote that goes:

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast"

What this quote is suggesting is that no matter how much time and energy goes into perfecting the corporate strategy, it will fall flat in case of a poor corporate culture. A strategic plan is just a plan. We need the people - the humans to ex- ecute the plan. And these are people who have their unique values, expectations, aspirations, cultural background - all of which impact how they come together. If a company has a strong corporate culture that promotes collaboration, diversity & belonging, and a sense of purpose, then the culture will enable faster movement towards the corporate objectives.

All that being said, let's not jump to con- clusions just yet. Let's first align on what we mean when we talk about strategy and culture.


Strategy

Strategy is the unique approach that an organization adopts in order to win. As I've discussed in a previous post, a good strategy takes into account the opportunities and threats, while recognizing the company's strengths and weaknesses. A strategy is directly aligned to the company's vision and goals, and provides a path to achieving them. A strategy is formally defined, but a good strategy is one that evolves and adapts to the changing landscape and circumstances.

"Strategy is figuring out what not to do." - Steve Jobs

But how do you execute a strategy? For that you need people.


Culture

Culture is the shared basic assumptions that drive how people perceive, think and feel about an organization. It is the shared values and behaviors that everyone in the organization associate with and try to embody on a day to day basis. Often companies would document their culture code formally, but the only way to execute on culture is through the humans that form the company as a whole.

"With the right people, culture, and values, you can accomplish great...