Engagement

Sometimes it takes a totally unplanned encounter to have the light bulb go off in your head.

I read a survey that revealed that 9 out of 10 executives believe that corporate culture is as important as strategy for business success. The report surprised me because that seems so obvious, why would it be a headline? (it also implies that 10% of executives thought it wasn’t as important which is even more surprising!). Surely this is like saying 9 out of 10 executives believe that breathing out is as important as breathing in!

I just listened to a podcast with Adrian Gostick over at the Cranky Middle Manager. It’s about his book, The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up, which stresses the importance of having fun in the work place.

If corporate culture & shared purpose are vital to engaging people as part of leadership, no wonder so much value is lost in M&As. Perhaps seventy per cent of mergers and acquisitions fail to deliver increased value. A large proportion actually lose value.

There was a survey of happiness at work. Orchestra members came second from the bottom, just above prison guards. Chamber musicians came top. What's the difference between chamber musicians and orchestra musicians?