“Company cultures are like country cultures. Never try to change one. Try, instead, to work with what you've got.”
– Peter F. Drucker

I am skeptical of the concept of organizational culture. Does it emerge naturally out of people and traditions, as Drucker implies, or can you purposefully change it regardless of what you’ve got?
 
What is culture, anyway? Today’s leadership literature calls it an organization’s attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values; its personality; the prevalence of independent thinking vs. process; or simply just “how things are done around here.”
 
In The Halo Effect, author Phil Rosenzweig debunks the notion that intentional culture always affects performance. “So many of the things that we … commonly think contribute to company performance are often attributions based on performance.”

He cites the 1982 Tylenol crisis, which ended with seven casualties from cyanide-laced capsules. Johnson & Johnson spent $100 million removing all bottles from every shelf in the country. CEO James E. Burke credited J&J’s culture of integrity as the reason for the company’s successful management of the crisis. Rosenzweig writes, “The story … provides a memorable anecdote, but a good anecdote can be found to support just about anything.” For example, the CEO could just as easily have credited operational excellence, great PR, retail relationships, supply chain speed, or quality leadership.
 
Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin invented their famous search technology as part of a college project. Did they start that project by consciously creating a culture that would produce optimum results? I don’t think a garage passes as intentional culture. They simply needed a cheap place to build their technology so they could raise money. Who cares about culture when you’re struggling to get off the ground?
 
In a 2008 Fortune article, Page said he likes the feel of the company’s smaller satellite Google offices. “I think as we get bigger, that’s the way we’re going to try to maintain our culture – to make sure we have the right sized groups.” But Brin says, “I don't think keeping the culture is a goal. I don’t think we should be looking back to our golden years in the garage. The goal is to improve as we grow, and we certainly have more resources to bring to bear on the cultural issues and whatnot as we gain scale.” [source]
 
The ancient book of Ezra straightens out this culture conundrum. It tells how the Israelites rebuild their culture from the ashes after foreign rule. Solomon’s temple had lain in ruins for several decades since the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, but now, with the Babylonians themselves ousted, the Jewish exiles restore the ancient structure to its former glory. The great structure is the essence of their nation. Without it, there is no culture.
 
Nearly 20 years after the majestic building is finished, a bold leader named Ezra recognizes his people have fallen back into the sinful practices they had developed while in exile. The temple’s excitement is wearing off. Ezra responds by reinstituting the old Jewish traditions and laws, igniting spiritual revival. Once more the nation is a distinct people of God.
 
What is the essence of your organization? Is there a strong brand, flagship product, or executive icon without which there would be no culture? For us, it’s our online industry portals. Our readers and advertisers rely on them to enhance their businesses. They generate all our revenue. If one of them goes down, thousands of people around the world are negatively affected. Great sites produce our culture.
 
The Jews saw the temple as the catalyst for reclaiming their proud heritage. In the same way, healthy organizations build cultures after they build their temples.

GE’s temple is its management excellence, which is also its business model. With all the diverse organizations it owns, cultures come and go. But the one thing that never changes for GE is this core.
 
Is your organization in the business of creativity, like a design firm or publishing house? If so, your people might enjoy working in coffee shops once in a while. They need best-in-class design tools and positive critiques from their peers.

If your model requires R&D innovation, what kind of training would your engineers appreciate? Would they draw inspiration from field trips to see famous feats of engineering? If your success depends on an image of supreme integrity in the market, like Johnson & Johnson, your employee rewards should reflect high standards. And of course when disaster strikes, you should respond with overwhelming concern and investment.
 
Do you see how strategy and culture interlock? The strategic model drives the culture, rarely the reverse. People need a temple before they can worship in it.

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Tom Harper is president of NetWorld Alliance, which publishes www.churchcentral.com and several online news portals in the retail, banking, technology and restaurant industries.

He is author of Leading from the Lions’ Den: Leadership Principles from Every Book of the Bible, (Sept. 2010, B&H Publishing). His Twitter account is @TomRHarper.