Culture DNA: How Your Unique Identity Shapes Your Culture
How Your Unique Identity Shapes Your Culture
02 October 2024
Culture cannot be defined by one thing because of its many faces. It is because of this ambiguity that often organizations overlook and underestimate the importance of culture.
Metaphors of Organizations
In the 1980s, Gareth Morgan, a British-Canadian organizational theorist and management consultant, introduced the concept of “Imaginization,” a way of thinking using metaphors for organizational analysis and problem-solving. In his book, Images of Organization, he described organizations using different metaphors. One that stuck with many people is Corporate DNA. Morgan defined it as “visions, values and sense of purpose that bind an organization together.” Much like a genetic mutation or a change in a DNA’s sequence, it has evolved to be known as Culture DNA.
Functions of Culture DNA
The Culture Invigoration Model© of MgtStrat asserts that Culture DNA is at the core of culture because it helps bring the organization to life. Take organisms like yourself as an example. You have DNA that contains the information that tells your body how to function: develop, perform, and survive. Without it, your cells, and therefore your body, would stop working. Similarly, organizations with actions that are misaligned with its DNA will malfunction and fail.
An organization’s culture DNA helps connect the DOTs for it to function properly.
- Direct: The Culture DNA gives the organization a clear direction of where it is headed.
- Operate: The Culture DNA tells the organization how to operate or what actions to take to go towards its intended direction.
- Thrive: The Culture DNA helps the organization thrive by making decisions to adjust how it operates so that it still moves toward the same direction, adapting to the constantly expanding landscape of society and business.
Building Blocks of Culture DNA
One of the first steps in the Culture Invigoration Pathway© is to Define the Culture DNA.
Purpose
Why does the organization exist? This is sometimes called an organization’s Mission. However, Purpose endures throughout the lifetime of an organization, regardless if society and business changes. The wording may change but the essence remains the same. For example, Microsoft’s Purpose or Mission is “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”
Vision
What is the organization’s aspirational destination? This is what the organization hopes to achieve in the future. It can transform within a reasonable period of time if the company has accomplished it, or it adapts to emerging trends in society and business.
For instance, when Microsoft was founded in 1975, its vision was “a computer on every desk and in every home.” But since technology has progressed and the company has grown and offered other products, its new vision is “to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.”
Values
What are the organization’s shared core beliefs? These are guiding principles that will support organizations to activate their purpose and vision everyday. It sets the tone for how employees treat each other and their customers as they live out the organization’s purpose.
For Microsoft, their values include respect, integrity, accountability, and innovation.
Sequence of Culture DNA
In biology, all DNA is made up of the same building blocks. But each organism’s DNA still makes it unique because of the sequence in which the molecules are arranged. Likewise, several organizations might have parallel purposes, visions that are identical, or share common values. Nonetheless, their Culture DNA still makes them special because of the order of how it was formed–from its conception to how it adapts over time.
DNA is formed at conception.
In biology, DNA is passed from adult organisms to their offspring during reproduction. This is true for organizations, too. The basic principles of culture is relational or formed through interactions with others. These interactions began as early as when the organization was started by its founders. In this way, Culture DNA is formed at conception. To illustrate this, take the case of Apple. Steve Jobs was well-known for his unwavering commitment to providing customers with products that are seamless, like the iMac G3. It was the first product to integrate monitor and CPU into one single unit, which was the beginning of the minimalist design iMacs are known for today. The focus on innovation and simplicity was sustained even after Job’s passing because it was intentionally reinforced in every aspect and all levels of the company. Culture can be transmitted, accepted, and learned.
DNA does not change, but can be expressed differently to adapt to the environment.
In biology, DNA does not change once the individual organism is formed. In organizations, we learned that Purpose remains the same. But aren’t organizations supposed to be adaptable? This makes it seem like a company might be limited by its Culture DNA. Let’s take inspiration from nature again. How does an organism develop its phenotype or the sum of all its observable traits? Some individual traits can be determined purely by its genotype or the set of genes or instructions the DNA contains. For example, a flamingo’s feathers are actually genetically gray. However, phenotype is sometimes determined by environmental factors like temperature, humidity, nutrition, and stress. The pink color of flamingos is caused by the beta-carotene in their diet. That’s why sometimes, there are orange and red flamingos. The expression of their traits changed, but the underlying genetic code in their DNA did not. This is called phenotypic plasticity.This plasticity can also be seen in organizations like LEGO. In 1932, Ole Kirk Christiansen made wooden toys in his workshop in Billund, Denmark. By 1934, he came up with the company name, “LEGO.” It is a combination of two Danish words “leg godt”, meaning “play well” because he committed towards children’s development through play. LEGO made random toys like cars, planes, ducks and horses, among others. Eventually in 1953, they added binding bricks to the inventory. Then, in 1954, Ole’s son Godtfred visited a toy exhibition in Britain. During the trip, he met the purchasing manager of the toy department of a big shopping center based in Copenhagen. The purchasing manager complained that there was no “system.” This conversation was what inspired Godtfred to launch the LEGO System in Play in the same year. The more bricks a child has, the more they can build–the possibilities are endless! This is how LEGO expressed their Culture DNA differently. Their Purpose of learning through play was still the same, but they shifted from random wooden toys to a system of bricks. This became the core that led to the trajectory and success of LEGO.
Conclusion
Culture DNA serves as a fundamental framework for understanding how organizations function, adapt, and thrive. By defining an organization’s purpose, vision, and values, Culture DNA provides a clear direction, operational guidelines, and the ability to adapt to changing environments. This ensures that an organization’s core identity remains intact while allowing for flexibility and growth. While Culture DNA is at the core, it is not enough. There are three pillars in which your organizational culture needs to stand on: inclusion, learning, and voice.
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