How an Organization’s People Create Its Culture

Last week I wrote about how the culture of an organization—the way the organization operates day to day—can become dysfunctional and often can undermine the organization’s mandate or mission statement. This week we’re going to look more closely at how the culture of an organization is formed and how all the people involved in the

13 Nov, 2014
Posted by Steve Fogel
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Culture vs. Mandate: How a Company’s Culture Can Erode Its Mandate

In my book Your Mind Is What Your Brain Does for a Living and its predecessor, My Mind Is Not Always My Friend, I concentrate on how becoming more mindful—that is, being focused with intent in the present, experiencing the present circumstance as it TRULY is, without judgment and interpretation and, most importantly, WITHOUT AN

10 Nov, 2014
Posted by Steve Fogel
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How Organizing Principles and Acts Are Related

The more clearly I understood my Organizing Principles, the more clearly I saw how they relate to my acts. For example, my Organizing Principle “I’m not qualified to handle painful situations. That takes a real adult, and in my inner world I’m still a vulnerable kid” is the basis for my act, “Poor me, the

6 Nov, 2014
Posted by Steve Fogel
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Reflect on Your Behavior to See What Causes You to Act as You Do

Besides noticing the difference between your beliefs and attitudes and those of other people, another way to uncover your Organizing Principles is to reflect on your behavior to figure out the beliefs and core issues that cause you to act as you do. Start with observing the specific things you do routinely. For example,

3 Nov, 2014
Posted by Steve Fogel
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Define Your Beliefs

One way to uncover your Organizing Principles is to see if you can define your beliefs (and the behavior that results from them) by contrasting them with the beliefs of other people around you whose attitudes and actions strike you as very different from your own. Analyzing these differences can help you recognize and put

30 Oct, 2014
Posted by Steve Fogel
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