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

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

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Avsnitt(815)

227: Lessons from returning to Turkey from the USA

227: Lessons from returning to Turkey from the USA

This podcast accompanies the recent article about a Turkish client who was trying to complete her MBA and move back to Turkey BCG or McKinsey after about 15 years outside the country. The podcast was done 18 months after the article was written so we will discuss her experiences since the time we provided the initial advice in the article. In many ways, what worked to this client's benefit was her genuine sincerity when asking for helping, excellent personality and high intellect. A rare combination.

16 Nov 201421min

226: Poor Networking and Mentor-Mentee Etiquette

226: Poor Networking and Mentor-Mentee Etiquette

This podcast is linked to the recent quarterly article about the speech Marvin Bower made way back in 1964. Rather than focusing on the many useful elements of the speech, we will focus on the unifying theme of finding outstanding people, inspiring them and requiring the highest levels of conduct from them.

10 Nov 201430min

225: How Michael Would Use The Consulting Offer

225: How Michael Would Use The Consulting Offer

This is not a complex podcast. It is more a reminder. I talk through the very simple steps I would use when learning from The Consulting Offer: Read all the pages about the show Read all the session descriptions Read them again Develop my study plan Complete quizzes 0 to 9 Stick to my plan Go through sessions 1 to 23 in that order for Felix and some sessions from Sanjeev. You can also do all the cases from Samantha and Rafik. In general, go through the drop down menu of The Consulting Offer and pay attention to this page.

4 Nov 20149min

224: Picking a Mentor Who is Not the Best At their Field

224: Picking a Mentor Who is Not the Best At their Field

This podcast is based on an off-the-record conversation I had with Felix when we were not recording The Consulting Offer. Sometimes after the 90 minute sessions we would engage in small-talk and useful things were discussed but never captured.

29 Okt 201414min

223: Picking a Mentor Who is Not the Best At their Field

223: Picking a Mentor Who is Not the Best At their Field

This podcast is based on an off-the-record conversation I had with Felix when we were not recording The Consulting Offer. Sometimes after the 90 minute sessions we would engage in small-talk and useful things were discussed but never captured.

23 Okt 201424min

222: Using The Consulting Offer Videos Effectively

222: Using The Consulting Offer Videos Effectively

Clients using the Consulting Offer Videos fit into a neat bimodal distribution.

17 Okt 20147min

221: The First 3 Minutes of a Case Interview

221: The First 3 Minutes of a Case Interview

The first 3 minutes of a coaching session, practice session and case interview determines everything. First impressions count.

11 Okt 201411min

220: Why Candidates Fail to Succeed

220: Why Candidates Fail to Succeed

This is an important and wide ranging podcast around the theme of why candidates fail and some key observations from Felix in The Consulting Offer Season 1.

5 Okt 201443min

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