: strategy at the pace of culture, part 1

Recently, I heard this term; "strategy at the pace of culture". I was immediately intrigued. Is this possible? Can you willingly create a strategy that keeps pace, or as I explain a later, outpaces culture? Because, if you don't, what good would a strategy be of catching up to culture when your original intent was to at least match it?

In looking around for information on this concept I came across this quote attributed to Peter Drucker; "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". I believe he said it to describe what happens to an organization that focuses too much on it's strategy for success while ignoring it's culture at its own peril. I think a more interesting interpretation would be to look at it through the lens of who and where culture is created. Perhaps if you knew that, and understood culture creation processes, you could be successful at this strategy.

For that you have to be prepared to focus your energies in a fairly narrow space, while creating a strategy that can foster and guide ideas through the whole spectrum.

Check out my quick diagram on this below. As you fall through the concentric rings to the center, acceptance is obviously higher. The returns on your idea, product, design, investment can also be exponentially magnified. Take Google for instance. It can be seen in this structure through many lenses; technological, business, and even culturally. It is obviously at the very center of this diagram given it's broad acceptance on all those levels. It started out at the fringe. It's reward for moving through to the center and becoming established is enormous.

You don't have to think of this as only the "big ideas". It could be small, and only have a small impact. A good example might be the invention of a new word. It could also be small, and still have a large impact. It's hard to predict, but a strategy that understands the processes from fringe, to adoption, to acceptance can amplify impact. Imagine being able to do that for your clients? It would be hard to find one that would trust you enough to hand over the whole process, but even having a small involvement is exciting.

I find thinking this way very liberating. This lifts the sense of what we do as "creatives" to another level. It's quite powerful to be a Culture Creator. I guess part of the excitement is knowing that a certain part of it has to involve some culture destruction.

This is obviously an unending process of making and re-making. Arriving at the center doesn't guarantee that you will stay there. You have to work hard at it. Even cultural norms come and go. The very things we may have at one point exclaimed to be absolute truths may be overturned. Might be one reason I despise anything described as such.

So, what does it take to do this? What kinds of things do we need to do to unleash this type of creation activity? Here are some thoughts I have been gathering for a while. Maybe some day they will make it into some more formalized list or manifesto. I like them loose like this for now though.

• Keep it fluid - remove the constraints of strict methodologies from your process


• Inspiration will, and should come from everywhere.


• Engage in your work on the level of a philosophy and even lifestyle


• Try something different


• Provide your teams with the tools needed for experimentation


• Remember, that "big" and important work usually starts "small"


• Sometimes Content = Design


• Work can equal Play


• Design not only communicates, but can spread knowledge


• Technologies, mediums, formats, and techniques on the edge offer the greatest opportunity to break through


• Open and invite collaboration across disciplines


• An interaction with a user/consumer/another can be an act of creation


• Data generation is outpacing human/culture's

Would love to hear your ideas on any of this stuff. Maybe you don't agree? Maybe you are excited by this too?

Comments

[Brian Gillespie]

Ricardo,
Great blog and an interesting extension of the original thought-provoker..."Strategy at the pace of culture". I have to tell you though I was thinking of a different culture...and both meanings are still completley relevant and in sync. Your perspective really looks into the soul of the organization and challenges companies to monitor, nurture, and grow strong organizationsal cultures, that can drive the company forward, in line with strategies that are in sync with or even as you say outpaceing culture.
However, the perspective I took looked externally at culture...the culture of society, the culture of consumers...their behaviors, feelings, activities, desires, expressions, collaborations...the trends that drive the formation of personal and group identity in the context of open society...the things that designers seek to tap in to as they produce great design...expressed in campaigns, products, services, applications, architectures and more. It is our understanding and empathy with contemporary culture and the various meanings it may have for various segments iof consumers that can inform us and inspire us to create work that is reflective of the forefront of trends and culture.
As definitions go these 2 cover the range of meanings of culture...
"An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning"
"The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group"
...and I think strategy needs to be formed and executed at the pace of both!!
We should talk more about this!!

[Administrator]

Thanks for the in depth comment Brian!

I see what you mean about my perspective focusing on internal culture. I had hoped however to make that point that if you don't have that in place, it's not possible to keep up with culture externally. You need to nurture a finger on the pulse environment in order to take advantage of that for the benefit of the work you do for consumers and brands.

I know how important empathy is in the design process. But I challenge leaning on that too heavily. Knowing, understanding and empathizing is almost, but not quite there. It's sitting in the inside of the circle diagram above and looking out. How do we flip that? How do we activate culture creators in our own midst to create awesomeness.

I believe this is a significant difference, and an extreme challenge.

[Brian Gillespie]

Agree that internal culture is critical...especially if you are in the business of innovation...you can't do it otherwise.
Question...where are these culture creators you reference...in the service companies? in the brands? or is it the consumer?

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