"Atomic Culture": Applying the Power of Habits to Organizational Culture
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Read time: 3 min
At a glance:
Quote: Action creates identity
Lesson: Three-step framework to apply habit principles to culture
Instagram Post: Don't stop, keep going
Resources: Two books and a podcast episode
QUOTE
"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become"
James Clear
Lesson
I will share a simple three-step framework to help you tap into the power of habits to build a formidable culture.
Because as we all know, culture is one of the most important elements to an organization. It can make or break a company.
But most organizations just put values on the wall or on their website and they call it a day. No one practices those values nor do they make tough decisions based on them.
If you want behaviors that last (habits), you have to focus on identity
James Clear talks about the three layers of change that occurs when creating habits: outcomes, processes, and identity.
Most people start off by saying "I want to lose weight" and that is an outcome. The next layer is by implementing a system or process like going to the gym and ultimately a new identity "I am a person who works out" is where lasting behaviors reside.
Similarly, when organizations are creating a culture, they want people to behave a certain way. For example, they want their employees to collaborate more, that's an outcome. By implementing a system to aid collaboration like cross-functional teams, that's a process. For lasting change to take place, you'll want to establish an identity "I am a person who collaborates".
An example:
Amazon
Outcome: Collaborate for the customer
Process: Two pizza teams
Identity: An Amazonian is obsessed with customer experience, constantly being curiosity, nimble, and experimental
The power of identity comes when someone who works at the organization is personified "Amazonian" or "Googler". This makes it very simple for employees to adopt behaviors at the deepest levels, often times so powerful that these values are retained after they've left the organization.
Here is a three-step framework based on the layers of behavior change as described by James Clear to build a compelling culture.
Envision: Showcase what it means to be a person who thrives at the company. What are the principles, why it matters and why it makes you better. Name it for maximum effect (eg. Amazonian's and their "Day 1" mentality )
Enroll: Help people understand how to live those values. Set up processes and systems that make it easier to live them everyday. (eg. At Zappos, they measure percent of customer interaction on every call instead of number of calls taken per hour - establishing a system of measurement and rewards that deliver the best, not the fastest service)
Experience: Make sure employees feel what it's like to adopt this new identity. This is establishing vocabulary, stories, artifacts, and traditions that immerse employees into the culture.
Creating a culture is about creating an environment for it to blossom. Ultimately if you create the right conditions, principles and values can become part of the identity of your people, making the outcomes more attainable and the new behaviors more sustainable.
Instagram Post
When you are having a tough time deciding what projects or tasks to execute on:
Instagram post from @lizandmollie
We are often impatient for change, but a great reminder is that every mountain is climbed the same way - one step at a time.
Resources
Culture Built My Brand by Mark Miller & Ted Vaughn: Book + my podcast episode with Mark
Atomic Habits by James Clear: Book
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