Developing a strong culture can be more valuable than an effective business strategy, says Mark Collins
Culture is personal. It’s about people. It’s there in the way the receptionist greets you as you arrive. It’s there in the way the partners speak to each other and their junior associates. It’s how teams work together. It is embedded in the reward structure of the partnership and how it is implemented. Curt W Coffman and Kathie Sorensen describe this as a combination of a “microculture” and a “bridging culture” (Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch (2013), The Coffman Organisation Inc). The “microculture” is the everyday interaction with our immediate colleagues. The “bridging culture” is what connects individuals and teams to the organisation as a whole. The key for Coffman and Sorensen is the “microculture”; it starts and finishes with people. This means you and me, and how we interact with each other. And this means that if we want to change our law firm’s culture, we must start with ourselves and our immediate relationships.
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