Culture and Humility as Competitive Advantages
In 2019, I interviewed over one hundred business leaders . In the course of these interviews and follow up discussions I learned a great deal - some of which I want to share here. I have seen workforces that are united with their leaders in a desire to change and improve. I have seen organizations that bring in all new leadership eager for change, but watched them fail because of institutional resistance. I have seen leaders and workforces passionate about winning, but without the humility to learn from their customers. I have witnessed how difficult it is to change. I have learned the human-work of solving problems, facing challenges and overcoming obstacles tends to share a common purpose: creating stable, secure and predictable environments. The tendency for most humans is that once we solve a challenge, we want to be done with it. That propensity, however, does not fit with today’s reality of perpetual change.