Jamie Notter Blog

I’m reading Upstream by Dan Heath (of Switch and Made to Stick fame), and not only is it a really good book, the application to culture change is eye-opening. The core concept in the book is fairly simple. If you really want to solve the tough problems, you must...

BOTTOM LINE If the leaders that were creating a toxic culture in your organization or team just left, then you have a small window of opportunity to do a reset. Start by naming the problem, then make some “quick win” changes to shift the trajectory (and rebuild...

There have been times where I work with a client on a culture design project for six months, helping them analyze their existing culture, identifying a small number of areas where they feel change would have the biggest impact, and then working with them to develop a...

A common misconception about culture change is that it's a top-down directive, something decreed by senior leadership and trickled down through the ranks. While leadership's buy-in is crucial, the truth disrupts this top-down narrative: Everyone has the power to shape...

THE BOTTOM LINE: In order to sustain culture change, you need to do a mix of change action items, some focused on making the change real, and others focused on making it permanent. Map out a sequence of quick wins, meaningful improvements, and big ideas, and your...

BOTTOM LINE: Culture has always been done BOTH from the top down and the bottom up at the same time. When you’re doing both, the change is the most successful. And even if the top-down culture design piece isn’t happening, you can lead bottom-up change from wherever...

BOTTOM LINE: Culture change is easier than you think. Start by identifying what your culture really is (you want unvarnished truth, not marketing copy). Then prioritize what parts of the culture need to change (make sure you connect these areas to what drives success...

BOTTOM LINE: You do NOT need to do them annually, because there are better ways to measure progress than running a whole assessment (see details below). We recommend running our culture assessment every 2 to 3 years or so, but it really should be done only when you...

BOTTOM LINE: In today’s remote/hybrid environment, more organizations/teams are bringing everyone together, in person, for multiple days. Be sure to make the most of that time by planning for deep dives, skill building, and relationship building, rather than endless...