The majority of large corporations are run by board members who are either from accountancy, economic and/or engineering backgrounds. Therefore western businesses like making “rational” decisions based on logic; understanding problems by analysing numbers, and generally using the attributes associated with the left hand side of the brain. These organisations are also sceptical about things which are difficult to measure or hard to quantify. Things like culture.
However, in Chief Culture Officer, Grant McCracken, argues that these are the very corporations that need to put cultural understanding at the heart of their senior management team.
An interesting and easy read, in the style of the popular economic books made famous by Malcolm Gladwell et al. It is full of intriguing business stories that support McGracken’s theory that organisations need to be living, breathing corporations that are fully plugged into all aspects of culture.
Being a sucker for self-improvement books I loved the bonus section entitled A Tool Kit for the Rising CCO. A practical guide to improving cultural knowledge.
Overall the book is enjoyable, although whether or not that the CCO position will become a permanent fixture in all board rooms in the near future is debatable. However it’s clear that those businesses that understand and anticipate cultural change will have a huge advantage over those that don’t take it seriously.
As with all successful business books these days, the brand is much bigger than just a mere book. Check out the website to find more about the author and the community he has created: http://chiefcultureofficer.ning.com/
A very interesting business book, which at times is inspiring.
Title | Chief Culture Officer
Author | Grant McCracken
Publisher | Basic Books
Publish Date | 2009
ISBN | 978-0-465-01832-1
Reviewer | Sean Singleton
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