Why Would Culture Eat Strategy for Breakfast?

I have an exciting engagement right now with a client that is very intentionally integrating cultural development into its enterprise strategy and corporate narrative.

This collaboration has led me to revisit the famous line attributed to Peter Drucker, that Culture eats Strategy for breakfast. I appreciate the wisdom in this statement: an organization’s culture is a powerful force that can limit (sometimes entirely) its ability to execute a strategy.

At the same time, it is stated as a universal truth, as if Culture and Strategy are naturally and always at odds with each other – like Paper Covers Rock, Rock Breaks Scissors, Scissors Cut Paper. I doubt this is what Drucker meant – perhaps more like Culture is capable of eating Strategy for lunch. I freely admit it doesn’t sound as clever that way, but humor me in focusing on the wisdom we can glean from the statement.

Next comes the question: under what circumstances does Culture eat Strategy for breakfast?

My starting point is a belief that Culture and Strategy can work powerfully together, reinforcing and strengthening each other in mutual service to the organization’s mission.  Realizing this synergy requires intentional work throughout the organization, but starting with leadership.

If Culture is eating Strategy for breakfast, then something is amiss in the organization. Some possibilities might include:

• The strategy is calling for change that team members are refusing or reluctant to undertake, because they feel threatened by it.
• There is a lack of continuity between the past and present on one hand, and the future on the other.
• The strategy, and quite possibly the leaders behind it, simply aren’t credible in the eyes of the organization.
• There are factions in the organization working at cross purposes, so Strategy doesn’t seem like the paramount “force” in the system.
• The Strategy doesn’t appear to line up with the company’s Values as they have been experienced by employees.

Culture isn’t “right and good,” and Strategy isn’t “wrong and bad.” Strategy isn’t Mohammed, and Culture isn’t the Mountain.  But Strategy can call for investment in Culture – focusing on both what should stay the same and what needs to change – and Strategy can leverage Culture to achieve and accelerate desired outcomes. A Strategy that does not account for the opportunities and threats presented by the Culture creates unnecessary risk for the organization.

In return, Strategy gives Culture focus. Strategy calls for intentional investments in particular assets and capabilities to drive the organization forward. The Culture will need some elasticity to embrace the inevitable changes called for by the Strategy. Leadership’s role is to make those changes explicit, and build the needed cultural elasticity into its business planning.  It’s true that Culture is both nebulous and sometimes resistant to change, but these are not reasons to neglect it and let it do things like compromise your business opportunity and the Strategy for pursuing it.

Bottom line, Culture may eat Strategy for breakfast, but that doesn’t mean it will or should or is even particularly inclined to do so. Culture and Strategy can work synergistically together. In cases where Culture is eating Strategy, it’s up to leadership to redefine the relationship between the two. Neither should be thought of as fixed or independent of each other. Culture enables Strategy. Strategy cultivates Culture.

How are Culture and Strategy getting along at your organization?