I am sure you have heard that adage, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The message here is that organizational culture is stronger than aspirational strategies, and the organization will have difficulty moving in a direction contrary to or challenging its culture. Well, culture has competition for feasting on strategy: systems.

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear states: “We don’t rise to the level of our goals, but we fall to the level of our systems.” Can you hear the “nom, nom, nom” of systems crunching goals and strategies in its teeth?

Simply stated, culture is people, and systems are processes with much overlap between the two. They are the existence of an organization and are central to engage when it comes to strategy or change work. This is why as we work with organizations in change management and strategic planning, we engage in 3 areas:

1. Who they are (culture and systems)

2. Why they exist (their mission/purpose)

3. What is their dream (their vision of change in the world)

The way forward emerges from where these three circles intersect. Whether it’s strategic planning or our non-profit acceleration experiences, we work with and within culture and systems to turn strategy from a delicacy to a way forward. Good strategic planning or change management engages culture (people) and systems (process) in creative and generative ways that move their mission forward.

Do you want to talk about moving your mission forward?