The Pecking Order of Culture, Strategy, and Talent

Leaders love to debate what is most important for organizational success: Culture, Strategy, or Talent? Of course, all three characteristics are essential for long-term accomplishment. But which one fuels the most success? 

Of late, culture has received an enormous amount of attention because it is often fragmented or in disrepute in many organizations. While it hasn’t always been viewed in this way, a strong and positive culture is now thought to be indispensable for an organization’s success. 

Without the talent to execute, however, a positive culture spins its wheels. If, as it has been famously said, culture eats strategy for lunch, then talent sets the table. Talent lays the foundation for success through innovation and powerful execution. Without it, organizations never realize their aspirations.

Speak with management consultants and they will put their money on strategy every time. Talent without strategy, they will tell you, is a fast ship in a choppy sea. Crafting the ideal game plan on how to achieve the organization’s goals lights the pathway toward exceptional performance. Without a compelling strategy, getting to the finish line is nearly impossible no matter who is driving the bus or singing along the way. 

So, which one carries the most weight?

It’s time to recognize that all three matter equally and are highly interdependent. When any one component is missing, the others lose their way. 

Never forget the lesson of Enron: Talent and strategy without culture produced a nightmare of ambition and an unethical food fight of untold mischief. Or the lesson of Circuit City: Culture and strategy without talent produced such bad customer service it put the company on life support before it finally died. Or the lesson of Polaroid: Culture and talent without strategy allowed technology and competitors to destroy one of the most successful organizations in the history of business. 

The best leaders invest in all of them. They hold themselves accountable to selecting superior talent, setting a compelling strategy, and creating a high-performance culture. Organizational success is a three-legged stool dependent on all three legs. Three is a lucky number.