Culture, after breakfast.

If you get the culture right, most of the other stuff will just take care of itself.

~ Tony Hsieh

Omnipresent in the business world is the lore of famed consultant Peter Drucker, who is widely (and wrongly) cited as the source of the phrase, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast!" The line was popularized by Ford CEO Mark Fields, although it's actual origin in unknown. What Drucker actually wrote in his epic 1967 book, The Effective Leader, was "Culture, no matter how defined, is singularly persistent."

And so it is!

I had the pleasure of working with a CEO and his energetic team in the Midwest this week, and although culture was hardly mentioned, it was the theme of the day for me. Underneath the genuinely encouraging reports of organizational mission success lurked subtle cultural tensions.

This leader's predecessor had built one culture; the new leader is building another. When several key team members were fired last year, it launched visceral waves of disruption across the leadership network, turbulence this gifted leader is still trying to manage today.

In my perspective there is no greater task of leadership (at any level) than that of articulating, building, and nurturing culture. But what is this mysterious ethereal quality we call culture?

Drucker described it as a deep, unshakeable set of shared habits and behaviors; in other words, it is what a group of people actually does rather than a set of conceptual values. Or we could say that it's the "lived values" of a group, whatever their stated values.

• Collaborative or siloed?

• Transparent or secretive?

• Buddies or colleagues?

• Formal or informal?

• Bold or cautious?

• Generous or restrained?

• Disciplined or folksy?

We could make a long list of potential descriptors, but whatever words we wrap around it, these "shared habits and behaviors" shape everything from the moment you walk into the office until the time you leave it. Even in the after-hours. Is there an expectation that email and texts be answered 24/7? That's culture.

Because of its pervasiveness, alignment or misalignment in culture will make or break a team. Thus its central priority. And thus the benefit of culture articulation. Most workplace cultures are neither conscious nor articulated; without intentionality, culture simply emerges from the dominant influences in the group.

Unconscious culture can be healthy or unhealthy... but it's easier to craft a healthy culture when it's conscious and intentional. No mystery there, but few do this.

Today's invitation: Articulate your ideal work culture in one or two paragraphs. Then find a one-word metaphor that captures the heart of that vision. What is the most accurate and inspiring symbol?

• A family?

• A tribe?

• A movement?

• A guild?

• A herd?

• A hive?

• An evolution?

• An innovation?

Now start incorporating both the metaphor and the content into all of your key communications, projects, and team development. You'll start noticing the benefits immediately even though thorough culture modification takes time.