Changing Values at The Wall Street Journal
Disconnection occurs when an acquiring company and the employees of its newly acquired company define excellence in different ways. In this month’s Atlantic, Mark Bowden writes about this issue in an excellent article entitled “Mr. Murdoch Goes to War.” The article, as you might guess from its title, is about how Rupert Murdoch is altering The Wall Street Journal.
One of the three elements of a Connection Culture is Vision, which includes an organization’s mission, values and reputation. Altering an organization’s identity is tricky business. This is especially true when the employees of an organization have a strong emotional connection to the organization’s identity. In such situations employee engagement can decline and quality of execution along with it.
This is a story I’ll be watching closely for possible inclusion in my next book. If you have any insights about changes at The Wall Street Journal, please post about them or email me at mstallard@epluribuspartners.com.
Michael Lee Stallard is the President of
Michael -
The Atlantic article is a good one. Glad you recommend it.
I would further your point that employees connection to an organization’s identity may become problematic through the organization’s transition.
Here’s how I would further it. I believe employees–if an organization is well-grounded and successful–connect to the culture of the organization. The identity grows and flows from the culture, which I believe is the foundation of an organization.
The more attention leaders/managers pay to the continuous vitalization of their business’s culture–and to their employees’ engagement with that culture–the better/faster they can smooth any transitional ripples.
Tim
Tim,
I couldn’t agree more and yet so few leaders realize the importance of being intentional about developing a winning and healthy culture where people thrive individually and collectively. It’s so easy to let the urgent crowd out the important.
Given your proximity to Whole Foods Market, do you think WFM had developed a healthy culture to go along with its healthy product offerings? Who are the best developers of culture that you’ve seen? I like what I hear about Beryl Companies and Sewell Automotive in Dallas.
In my neighborhood, I would say Morgan Stanley had a great partnership culture and Goldman Sachs seems very strong too. McKinsey & Co. has a good culture. Dr. Herb Pardes is doing wonderful things at New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System in NYC. I think there is a healthy sense of pride, commitment and responsibility at each of these organizations.
Michael