Is Your Culture a Problem? Lessons from Leaders Who Failed

Your Corporate Culture Has an Outsized Impact on Decision Making
At its core, the business of business is decision making — from high-stakes strategic choices about entering new markets to the everyday calls about where to host your next executive strategy retreat. Every action, big or small, stems from a decision. And nothing influences those decisions more than corporate culture. So, you should ask: Is Your Culture a Problem?

Culture shapes the lens through which people interpret information, assess risk, and choose how to act. It determines not only what decisions get made, but how, why, and by whom. When your culture is healthy and aligned with strategy, decision-making becomes sharper, faster, and more consistent. When it’s weak, unclear, or misaligned, decisions slow down, conflict increases, and organizational energy splinters in competing directions.

Culture, at its essence, is the collection of shared beliefs, norms, and unspoken rules that guide behavior — even when no one is watching. A strong culture gives people confidence to act decisively within clear boundaries. A dysfunctional one breeds hesitation, second-guessing, and blame.

So, the real question isn’t whether culture affects decision-making — it’s whether yours is helping or hindering it. Does your culture enable people to make smart, values-based decisions at speed? Or does it create bottlenecks, workplace politics, and confusion? The strength of your culture determines which side of that equation your organization lives on.

Two Scandals: Is Your Culture a Problem?
Two scandals in the news recently make one wonder about the state of corporate cultures and leadership in the world today. Both show a shocking disregard for ethics and for the safety and well-being of the company’s consumers.

1. Outbreak of Salmonella and the Peanut Corporation of America
   The first scandal dates back to 2008 when an outbreak of salmonella that killed 9 and sickened over 700 was traced back to peanut butter paste that ended up in snack products widely distributed within the US. Finally in 2015 the CEO of the Peanut Corporation of America was brought to trial and the sentence handed down — 28 years in prison for knowingly distributing tainted food.

   One commentator said that then-CEO Parnell probably did not intend to kill people but “he just ran his business in a way that caused a lot of injury and some deaths.”

2. Pollution Cheating and VW
   The second was the revelation that Volkswagen was caught cheating on US air pollution tests. The company installed software that could detect when smog tests were being conducted. The software operated the emissions control system during the test and shut it off when the test was over.

   Then when the vehicles were back on the road, they dumped anywhere from 10 to 40 times the legal pollutants into the air. Again we have an apologetic corporate leader with an admission that Volkswagen was “dishonest.”

These are two extreme examples of what can go wrong when toxic corporate cultures lose sight of their company’s true purpose: serving (and protecting) their customers.

The Lesson
The key takeaway for corporate leaders is this: we must stay relentlessly focused on the compass that guides every choice — our corporate values and the behaviors our workplace culture tolerates. Every decision, from the CEO’s office to the front lines, should be measured against these guiding principles. If we are truly committed to serving our customers’ best interests, no one in the organization should ever make a decision that compromises their trust or well-being. Culture and values aren’t just statements on paper — they are the standard by which every action should be judged.

Why Didn’t Anyone Speak Up?
Why didn’t any Peanut Corporation of America employee speak up about possible contamination and unclean production practices? And where were the whistle blowers at Volkswagen?  Our take: The performance culture made it difficult (or not worth it) to speak up.

Based upon the outcomes, we can only assume that questions must have been squelched, dissent was not allowed, employees feared recriminations, greed was king, and ethics were not practiced, modeled, or enforced.  In a more healthy culture where values are honored and where the culture encourages constructive debate and the open sharing of ideas, the situation could never progress to such shocking extremes.

The Bottom Line
Is your culture a problem?  Is it strong enough to thwart toxic leaders, employees, and ideas?  It is never too late to review why you’re in business and make sure you practice, model, and monitor your core values. Then hold each and every employee accountable for consistently behaving in a way that makes sense.

To learn more about creating a high performing and aligned corporate culture, download 3 Levels of a High Performance Culture to Get Right to Avoid a Scandal