817: Culture by Design: How Leaders Drive Strategy, Execution, and Performance with Krista White

817: Culture by Design: How Leaders Drive Strategy, Execution, and Performance with Krista White

In this episode, Krista White, coauthor of Culture Design and cofounder of Culture Design Lab explains how leaders can treat culture as a strategic lever rather than an HR initiative.

1. Culture is inseparable from strategy

Krista stresses that culture cannot be treated as background. It determines whether strategic plans survive contact with execution.

"We were noticing that there was a gap in people knowing how to connect culture with strategy. Our hope is that this book serves as a practical guide."

Leaders who design culture deliberately create alignment and resilience. Those who ignore it risk drift and underperformance.

2. Leadership presence remains essential

Digital tools cannot replace visible leadership.

"Everyone should be able to get five minutes with you. The CEO should not be a high on a hill person who is not reachable."

Walking the floor and observing frontline conditions show employees what leadership values.

3. Rituals make values real

Rituals translate values into behavior. "The rituals that stick are the ones tied directly to your business model and purpose not borrowed from another industry."

4. Resistance is part of the process

Cultural change often meets skepticism. Krista advises leaders to treat adoption like marketing.

"Think of it like marketing. You need many touches before someone clicks buy. Culture change requires consistency and repetition."

Consistency reduces resistance.

5. Context shapes culture

Best practices cannot be copied blindly.

"I used to think there was one right way for culture to look. I learned it is industry and context dependent."

The principle is to design culture that fits your strategy and market position.

6. Leadership lessons that endure

Krista learned two lessons from her father James White that remain relevant for executives

  • Discipline and preparation: "Practice makes perfect."

  • Balance and resilience: Never sacrificing family relationships even under pressure.

7. A broader leadership mission

Krista frames her work around freedom and engagement.

"My why is to do my part in creating a freer and more joyful world for everyone. For me that is through storytelling."

Organizations perform best when employees can bring their full selves to work.

📚 Get Culture Design here: https://shorturl.at/NVrs1

Here are some free gifts for you:

Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach

McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf

Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Avsnitt(813)

752: You Cannot Join McKinsey Strategy (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

752: You Cannot Join McKinsey Strategy (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

Far too many candidates demonstrate poor knowledge of consulting by insisting that they want to work for McKinsey strategy and not operations or BTO. This is a flawed strategy which will only hurt their chances in the short, medium and long-term. This podcast explains why and how to compensate for this misunderstanding.   Here are some free gifts for you:   Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

5 Feb 10min

751: Ignoring partners in an interview (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

751: Ignoring partners in an interview (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

You have been brainwashed by every single forum and case book to assume that McKinsey wants a framework and set of hypotheses, that you have stopped listening as carefully to the interviewer and simply providing hypotheses even when the interview is not asking for them!   Here are some free gifts for you:   Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

3 Feb 9min

750: Evaluating your firm's training (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

750: Evaluating your firm's training (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we discuss consulting firm's training.   Too often clients ask the wrong questions when it comes to assessing training at consulting firms: do smaller offices have poorer training, should I attend training as soon as I join, does BCG have better training than Bain etc. When considering training you need to both consider formal and informal training. As we show, formal training is very useful, but not at all for the hard/technical skills it purports to impart on attendees. Informal training, also known as training on an engagement, is most effective when consultants can practice under diverse conditions. In other words, the more you travel and work with foreign teams, the better will be your training. Some firms encourage more global staffing and others far less. That counts.   Here are some free gifts for you:   Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

29 Jan 13min

749: Economic impact of poor business judgement (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

749: Economic impact of poor business judgement (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we discuss the economic impact of poor business judgement. The economic impact of poor business judgement, is a topic we managed every day as partners. Each time an associate made a poor "common sense" decision we needed to explain both the potential reputation and economic damage done to the firm. The former is well-known, but the latter is less known but just as important. In thinking through why consulting firms look for business judgement, it helps to consider the economic impact to clients and the firm. Here are some free gifts for you: Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

27 Jan 8min

748: Generating multiple creative hypotheses (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

748: Generating multiple creative hypotheses (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic, building of our technique to develop hypotheses, this podcast explains a clever way to generate creative hypotheses. In essence, the podcast will be useful to candidates who have already seen how we brainstorm and generate hypotheses, since this podcast expands on that thinking. The core of this idea is that if more than one structure can be brainstormed for a case, each of those structures can be used to develop a new type of hypothesis. This is a very, very simple technique as well.   Here are some free gifts for you:   Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

22 Jan 7min

747: McKinsey senior partner networking success (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

747: McKinsey senior partner networking success (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we share a networking success story with a McKinsey senior partner.   We always ask our clients, especially those from weaker schools, to network with the most senior partners of consulting firms. This is a podcast about a PhD client, from a weaker school and no existing consulting relationships, who painfully followed this advice over several months to network with a member of McKinsey's worldwide leadership and obtain interviews for his office of choice. It is not easy, but can be done. It works.   Here are some free gifts for you:   Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

20 Jan 10min

746: Why should you bring energy to the interview? (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

746: Why should you bring energy to the interview? (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we discuss why you should bring energy to the interview.   Lots of candidates leave it to the interviewer to determine the energy levels, tone and mood of the call. That is a bad idea. In our experience, the best candidates always bring a light mood to interviews. Seriousness can hurt you as it is confused for anxiousness. Delegating the mood to the interview is bad idea since it means the energy of the case will be largely out of your control. Moreover, unless you practice controlling the energy, it is unlikely you will have this skill to deploy in the case interview itself.   Here are some free gifts for you:   Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

15 Jan 6min

745: Estimation Sensitivities During Calculations (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

745: Estimation Sensitivities During Calculations (Case Interview & Management Consulting classics)

For this episode, let's revisit a Case Interview & Management Consulting classic where we look at how to make estimations when calculating smaller values or working with enclosed spaces like restaurants, the importance of sensitivity analyses and a new limitation of demand-driven cases. This is a very important technique which can significantly improve accuracy and efficiency in case math.   Here are some free gifts for you:   Overall Approach Used in Well-Managed Strategy Studies free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/OverallApproach   McKinsey & BCG winning resume free download: www.firmsconsulting.com/resumepdf   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

13 Jan 5min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
badfluence
varvet
rss-svart-marknad
rss-borsens-finest
uppgang-och-fall
svd-ledarredaktionen
avanzapodden
24fragor
rss-dagen-med-di
lastbilspodden
rss-en-rik-historia
fill-or-kill
borsmorgon
bathina-en-podcast
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
rikatillsammans-om-privatekonomi-rikedom-i-livet
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
market-makers
tabberaset