After 50+ years of building, working with teams large and small, I have learned one indisputable thing. Culture trumps strategy … every time.

Early in 2017 I had lunch with a guy a client of mine wanted me to check out for him. He arrived in a three piece suit, twenty minutes late … loquacious. Talked for 45 minutes. Home in Carmel, apartment in New York. Maserati. All of it. You got it. 

Then this …

“Steve Jobs was my first client. He led me to Jeff Immelt at GE, Bob Eichner at Disney and I’m working with Rupert Murdoch to transition his sons into his empire.” 

“Check please!” … Did I really have to listen to this guy any further? What would I tell my client? Oh well. I actually had experienced worse before with other “leaders.”

He went on. Strategy, tactics, goals, profits, infrastructure, insufferable egos. All the stuff he dealt with while advising his elite list of consulting clients. “Zzzzz” … I was about done entertaining his falsehoods.

Thankfully after this soliloquy my guest ran out of breath. I hadn’t acknowledged, responded to any his claims. He was looking for breathless reactions from me that never came. While catching his breath, he uttered, “And ? (he’d forgotten my name), what do you do?”

My turn … “Well?” All those incredibly important things (and they are) that you address with your clients? I deal with the human dynamics that impact them all. I ‘lubricate’ the system so all the parts work fluidly. I help people work together most effectively. More aligned. Make teams work better by helping them collaborate, create … perform at top levels. All the ‘soft stuff ‘so many organizations fail to dignify. Give a lot of lip service too, but far less act on. I refer to this as the “invisible” phase of the business process. That cultural part of a business that is hard (if not impossible) to quantify.”

“Because in the work I do, I believe CULTURE TRUMPS STRATEGY … EVERY TIME.”

My lunch guest was stunned. I was stunned he looked stunned! Could this be a revelation to Mr. Big?! Was he actually impressed my this brief claim? Maybe it was the way I described it? He relaxed a bit in his chair. “That’s fascinating! Can we have lunch next week?”

I was having foot surgery. “Sorry, I cannot.” I paid the check. Offered lastly, “Call me next week and we’ll find a date.”

We parted. I never heard from him again.

But I went home that afternoon. Bewildered a bit. Curious. Thought I’d look google this guy. Huh!? Everything he’d told me at lunch was true. Jobs, Murdoch … all of it! 

I had just had lunch with one of the premier business consultants in America. Based on what he shared during our time together, I would have loved to “shadow” him sometime and witness what he and his work with his elite clientele really looked like. 

While I may have been unimpressed with his ego … the way he delivered his message, I had a renewed confidence that the work I was dedicating my life to had value. My new acquaintance had helped me validate that my work indeed had worth, value for the people I serve.

Culture first … the strategy to follow.  CULTURE TRUMPS STRATEGY … EVERY TIME.

I wrote this years ago. It’s relevance is true more today than ever:

After working on strategy for 20 years, I can say this: culture will trump strategy, every time. The best strategic idea means nothing in isolation. If the strategy conflicts with how a group of people already believe, behave or make decisions it will fail. Conversely, a culturally robust team can turn a so-so strategy into a winner.                                                      

Thank you, my friend. Through the pain of listening to you … I learned so much.