There’s a saying we frequently use at Mercy. I’ve also heard it used in other organizations
with variations of the same words: “Culture eats strategy for lunch.”
That saying, originally attributed to Prof. Peter Drucker, the man many would say invented
business management in the latter part of the 20th century, essentially conveys
the idea that no matter how much a group might want to accomplish together,
the way they treat each other will be of far greater importance in determining what
they’re ultimately able to do. And while Prof. Drucker certainly deserves his place
in history for his business insights, it was Mercy foundress Catherine McAuley who
observed nearly 100 years before Prof. Drucker’s birth that, “who we are together is
more important than anything we will ever do.”
It’s a rare moment of clarity when business and religious leaders come to the same
philosophical conclusion like this. As such, it seems worth taking some time to think
more deeply about what this means within our own organization. It’s a question of
culture.
We obviously have strategies to improve patient satisfaction, co-worker engagement and financial performance. Leaders
throughout our organizations spend a lot of their time thinking about those three issues and what can be done to
influence them. But do we have the culture within our organization to execute those strategies? It’s not an easy question
to answer. After all, it’s difficult to see the picture when you’re inside the frame. Further, one’s perspective changes
depending on the vantage point within the picture. Even coming up with an acceptable definition of culture isn’t exactly
straightforward, although one I particularly like is, “It’s what happens when the boss leaves.” Said differently, it may be
as simple as how we feel about the people in our organization.
So one way or another, we have a culture, and there’s little doubt that it’s the culture we deserve – one that we have
behaved our way into. Describing it is important as it says volumes about who we are. Perhaps equally important is the
expression of our culture to the world outside of Mercy. That expression is known in advertising and marketing circles
as our brand and it’s nearly impossible for an organization’s brand to fall far from its’ cultural tree. Thus, whatever we
believe our culture to be has a natural resonance in our communities and with our patients. Surely they do not see anything
different in us than we see in ourselves.
The poet Maya Angelou once wrote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I’m curious when you go home to your families, what feelings do
you take with you about the people you work with? In other words, how would you describe our culture? Let me know
your thoughts. Email me at alan.scarrow@mercy.net.
