The Culture Engine - by S Chris Edmonds (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Culture Engine shows leaders how to create a high performing, values aligned culture through the creation of an organizational constitution. With practical step-by-step guidance, readers learn how to define their organization's culture, delineate the behaviors that contribute to greater performance and greater engagement, and draft a document that codifies those behaviors into a constitution that guides behavior towards an ideal: a safe, inspiring workplace. The discussion focuses on people, including who should be involved at the outset and how to engage employees from start to finish, while examples of effective constitutions provide guidance toward drafting a document that can actualize an organization's potential.

Culture drives everything that happens in an organization day to day, including focus, priorities, and the treatment of employees and customers. A great culture drives great performance, and can help attract and retain great talent. But a great culture isn't something that evolves naturally. The Culture Engine is a guide to strategically planning a culture by compiling the company's guiding principles and behaviors into an organizational constitution.

• Decide which behaviors and attitudes are desired in the organization
• Secure leader commitment to planning, drafting, and implementing the document
• Learn the most effective way to socialize the draft statement and get everyone on board
• Model desired behaviors to boost employee engagement throughout the process

Organizational culture is not an amorphous thing - it comes down from the top, inspired and exemplified by the leadership. It can steer a company up or down, keep it on mission or force it off-course. For an organization to fulfill its potential, the culture must be on-point, truly reflecting the heart of the company from leaders to team members across the company. The Culture Engine helps leaders define the playing field, pushing performance to the next level.

From the Back Cover

We are more aware now than ever before of the vital importance of organizational culture. No one is inspired to perform in dreary, frustrating environments, and, in the 21st century, inspiration and engagement are often the only things separating the successes from the failures. But an earnest desire to improve your organization's culture will only get you so far. You need a tangible framework that will give shape to your good intentions. There are many such frameworks out there, but The Culture Engine is the only one that's really in tune with the daily realities faced by leaders at all levels.

It's true that culture-building is an ongoing process, but leaders also need to contend with the day-to-day responsibilities. Until now, no book has provided a way to solidify the culture you want without falling behind on everything else. In fact, The Culture Engine, with its emphasis on developing an organizational constitution, never loses sight of the fact that it's the everyday tasks that add up to a successful team. The goal of this book is to provide readers with a way to build a foundation that will guide daily implementation, allowing effective leadership to really kick in.

Many managers and team leads have a nagging feeling that their people aren't performing to their full potential. Sure, the job is getting done, but is it getting done well, or is it just "good enough"? Without a set of principles to point the way to leaders and team members alike, no amount of intervention will squeeze success out of a troubled culture. The Culture Engine shows that those principles don't have to be nebulous and vague--quite the contrary.

Author S. Chris Edmonds walks readers through the steps to drafting an organizational constitution with the goal of clarity and a shared vision. With this vision in place, employees feel engaged and inspired to be a part of something with tangible meaning. A culture like that is the holy grail of leadership. Defining, crafting, and managing an organizational constitution per The Culture Engine's clear instructions brings that goal within reach for all of us.

About the Author

S. CHRIS EDMONDS is the founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group, an organizational culture consulting firm. Since 1995, he has also served as a senior consultant with the Ken Blanchard Companies. Over the course of his career, Chris has delivered over 100 keynote speeches, authored or coauthored 6 books, and consulted for clients in almost every industry. He is an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego's School of Business.