When COVID-19 hit businesses many business leaders turned to technology for help. Technology companies were also quick to develop solutions and suggest ways in which information workers could continue to work from home. Two years later many have realised that technology is not an answer to everything. Currently business leaders are grappling with productivity issues that emanate from working from home. The answer, according to Cultureneering a book written by Ian Fuhr, is culture. He suggests that one of the greatest lessons of the pandemic is cultural transformation. The book points out that we’ve witnessed an increase in trust, a flattening of hierarchies and more rapid and agile decision making. He believes that companies that will be most successful in the transition from the pandemic to the post-pandemic workplace will be those that find ways to sustain these cultural benefits.
Although COVID-19 has been a source of pain for many businesses, Fuhr suggests that it presents a perfect opportunity to make some needed changes that includes recreating a culture that will stand you in good stead, no matter what the universe throws at you.
Fuhr is qualified to talk about the importance of culture in business as someone who built a successful business based on sound culture. He has proven that his Cultureneering framework works in the highly successful Sorbet business.
If you want to follow a proven framework, this book should serve as an introduction to the development of a cultural transformation within your organisation. The process starts with always putting people first, understanding your true reason for being, self reflection, finding the courage to be enough, giving more than you take and fighting greed.
This is one of those books that goes beyond just requiring you to read it. It demands of you to act and do something within your business that may even mean appointing a cultureneer (an appointed employee whose role will include responsibilities such as facilitating and encouraging alignment on the purpose of the company). Go on and read it but be prepared to act on some of the suggestions to get full benefit.
