http://www.debaak.nl/en/knowledgecentre/reading
The soul of the corporation
how to manage the identity of your company
Author: Bouchikhi, Hamid Kimberly, John R. ISBN: 9780131857261 Price € 12,70 Publisher: Wharton School Publishing, 2008, 208 p.
If you are tempted to use the identity of your firm as a basis for competitive advantage, be sure that the organizational identity projected through branding efforts is real. Ensure that the corporate branding efforts targeted at various stakeholders are consistent. Carefully align your own behavior and decisions with the organizational identity claims you make inside and outside the firm. Strive to realize synergies between handling identity at the level of the organization as a whole and at the level of the individual brands under which your firm's products and services are marketed.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Review posted at Think Personality
http://www.thinkpersonality.com/archives/2008/05/the_soul_of_the.html
Posted by Brad Abare Filed under: Philosophy
In their book, The Soul of the Corporation: How To Manage The Identity of Your Company, Hamid Bouchikhi and John R. Kimberly do a masterful job arguing why the future of your organization comes down to how well you manage its soul. Consider their opening thesis:
We are in the midst of a transition on a global scale from an era in which the vast majority of individuals and human groups lived with a sense of clarity, continuity and consistency about their identity--their notion of who they are and how others view them--to an era in which identity is increasingly problematic across all levels of human organization, from the individual person to entire nations or civilizations.
The result of this identity crisis, perhaps unintentionally, is that organizations have now become suppliers of individual and collective identity.
In traditional societies, individuals inherited much of their own identity from the social milieu (family, place of birth, tribe, religion) into which they were born. In an organizational society, individuals are defined by the organizations in which they participate. When people draw much of their sense of self from belonging to, or buying from, a particular organization, they tend to be anxious about and resist changes that may alter what, in their eyes, is the very soul of that organization.
"[Identity] is not a private matter; it is a social construction."
Ask yourself the following questions:
Who are we as a company?
How do our customers see us?
To what extent will our identity enable us to thrive in the future?
"[The] visible elements of a firm are held together by a set of shared beliefs--sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit--that define its essence." This shared set of beliefs--what the authors call the "I*Dimension--gives the visible elements of the firm coherence and puts boundaries around how much change is possible without altering its essence."
"When identity becomes problematic, leaders need to understand that they are confronting issues beyond strategy and that invariably involve struggles over the soul of their organization."
The authors point out "identity anchors" that exist in both individuals and organizations. "Just as the identity of individuals can be anchored in gender, nationality, social group, educational credentials or particular skills, an organization's identity [resides] in multiple anchors, such as core business, knowledge base, nationality, operating philosophy, a legendary founder, a governance structure or combinations of these."
Internal Benefits of Clear, Consistent and Valued Identities
Identification: We belong.
Loyalty and Commitment: We're in this together.
Cooperation: We're working toward the same outcomes.
Problem Solving and Decision Making: We have a framework that guides our decisions.
Legitimacy: We trust that what we're doing is what we should be doing.
External Benefits of Clear, Consistent and Socially Valued Identities
Recognition: We're noticed for who we are, not only what we say we are.
Attractiveness and Loyalty: We're a magnet for the right people.
Trust and Predictability: We nurture relationships that mean something.
The Dark Side, When Benefits Become Liabilities
Narcissism: We think we're all that matters
Conflict: We can't agree on what really matters
Drift: We forget about what really matters
Fragmentation: We split up and deal with smaller matters
"Leaders ignore identity at their own risk. And when identity is ignored, it almost inevitably comes back to haunt them."
"Changing the identity of an organization takes more than a new mission statement, a new name, or a new visual identity."
Finally, the authors suggest some personal application to people considering a change of employment. "No matter how attractive the job or the package, if you are at odds with the soul of the corporation, and if you are unwilling or unable to close the gap in one direction or the other, you are stacking the odds of success against yourself."
This book is an excellent read, packed with real world examples--good and bad--of organizations dealing with issues of identity and soul.
Posted by Brad Abare Filed under: Philosophy
In their book, The Soul of the Corporation: How To Manage The Identity of Your Company, Hamid Bouchikhi and John R. Kimberly do a masterful job arguing why the future of your organization comes down to how well you manage its soul. Consider their opening thesis:
We are in the midst of a transition on a global scale from an era in which the vast majority of individuals and human groups lived with a sense of clarity, continuity and consistency about their identity--their notion of who they are and how others view them--to an era in which identity is increasingly problematic across all levels of human organization, from the individual person to entire nations or civilizations.
The result of this identity crisis, perhaps unintentionally, is that organizations have now become suppliers of individual and collective identity.
In traditional societies, individuals inherited much of their own identity from the social milieu (family, place of birth, tribe, religion) into which they were born. In an organizational society, individuals are defined by the organizations in which they participate. When people draw much of their sense of self from belonging to, or buying from, a particular organization, they tend to be anxious about and resist changes that may alter what, in their eyes, is the very soul of that organization.
"[Identity] is not a private matter; it is a social construction."
Ask yourself the following questions:
Who are we as a company?
How do our customers see us?
To what extent will our identity enable us to thrive in the future?
"[The] visible elements of a firm are held together by a set of shared beliefs--sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit--that define its essence." This shared set of beliefs--what the authors call the "I*Dimension--gives the visible elements of the firm coherence and puts boundaries around how much change is possible without altering its essence."
"When identity becomes problematic, leaders need to understand that they are confronting issues beyond strategy and that invariably involve struggles over the soul of their organization."
The authors point out "identity anchors" that exist in both individuals and organizations. "Just as the identity of individuals can be anchored in gender, nationality, social group, educational credentials or particular skills, an organization's identity [resides] in multiple anchors, such as core business, knowledge base, nationality, operating philosophy, a legendary founder, a governance structure or combinations of these."
Internal Benefits of Clear, Consistent and Valued Identities
Identification: We belong.
Loyalty and Commitment: We're in this together.
Cooperation: We're working toward the same outcomes.
Problem Solving and Decision Making: We have a framework that guides our decisions.
Legitimacy: We trust that what we're doing is what we should be doing.
External Benefits of Clear, Consistent and Socially Valued Identities
Recognition: We're noticed for who we are, not only what we say we are.
Attractiveness and Loyalty: We're a magnet for the right people.
Trust and Predictability: We nurture relationships that mean something.
The Dark Side, When Benefits Become Liabilities
Narcissism: We think we're all that matters
Conflict: We can't agree on what really matters
Drift: We forget about what really matters
Fragmentation: We split up and deal with smaller matters
"Leaders ignore identity at their own risk. And when identity is ignored, it almost inevitably comes back to haunt them."
"Changing the identity of an organization takes more than a new mission statement, a new name, or a new visual identity."
Finally, the authors suggest some personal application to people considering a change of employment. "No matter how attractive the job or the package, if you are at odds with the soul of the corporation, and if you are unwilling or unable to close the gap in one direction or the other, you are stacking the odds of success against yourself."
This book is an excellent read, packed with real world examples--good and bad--of organizations dealing with issues of identity and soul.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Review from De Standaard, March 7, 2008
http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=NQ1P0EH0&kanaalid=202
Identiteitsproblemen
Kampt u met identiteitsproblemen? Dan bent u niet de enige volgens de auteurs van het boek The soul of the corporation. How to manage the identity of your company. Ook bedrijven kampen meer en meer met identiteitsproblemen als gevolg van de vele fusies en overnames, spin-offs en strategische allianties tijdens de laatste vijftien jaar. Dankzij een goed gemanagede bedrijfsidentiteit willen werknemers zich echter identificeren met de organisatie waarvoor ze werken en tonen ze meer loyauteit, toewijding en zin voor samenwerking. Dat is niet onbelangrijk in de war for talent die vandaag woedt. Klanten en investeerders zullen organisaties met een sterke identiteit sneller herkennen, zich ertoe aangetrokken voelen, het bedrijf vlugger vertrouwen en meer toegewijd zijn.
Identiteitsproblemen
Kampt u met identiteitsproblemen? Dan bent u niet de enige volgens de auteurs van het boek The soul of the corporation. How to manage the identity of your company. Ook bedrijven kampen meer en meer met identiteitsproblemen als gevolg van de vele fusies en overnames, spin-offs en strategische allianties tijdens de laatste vijftien jaar. Dankzij een goed gemanagede bedrijfsidentiteit willen werknemers zich echter identificeren met de organisatie waarvoor ze werken en tonen ze meer loyauteit, toewijding en zin voor samenwerking. Dat is niet onbelangrijk in de war for talent die vandaag woedt. Klanten en investeerders zullen organisaties met een sterke identiteit sneller herkennen, zich ertoe aangetrokken voelen, het bedrijf vlugger vertrouwen en meer toegewijd zijn.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The Soul of The Corporation at Wharton Alumni Magazine
http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/alum_mag/issues/winter2008/wharton_publishing.html
The Soul of the Corporation: How to Manage the Identity of Your Company By Hamid Bouchikhi and John r. Kimberly
In the burgeoning Age of Identity, competitive advantage is shifting from what a product is to the identity of the firm that markets it. More than ever, a firm’s identity shapes the results it can achieve. The Soul of the Corporation: How to Manage the Identity of Your Company by Hamid Bouchikhi and John R. Kimberly offers managers a systematic, accessible, management-oriented way to understand, control and leverage their organization’s identity.
Drawing on stories from organizations such as McDonald’s, Lenovo, Ford and the Catholic Church, The Soul of the Corporation argues that while identity can be an extraordinarily valuable asset, it can also become a huge liability if not managed well. Using the strategies illustrated by the authors, managers will discover how their organization’s identity is related to and different from its organizational culture, brand positioning and reputation. Methods for managing the unconscious shared beliefs that give an organization coherence as well as how to face the identity challenges that arise in mergers, alliances, spin-offs and acquisitions are also addressed.
The Soul of the Corporation offers business leaders a set of actionable ideas and guidelines that can be used to enhance their ability to diagnose and manage identity issues. Business leaders should be aware of the following, for instance:
Be sure that the organizational identity projected through branding efforts is real. If it is not real, if it is mere sloganeering, competitors or other unfriendly stakeholders may turn these branding efforts against you. Failure to observe this rule has exposed the British Petroleum Company (BP) and its top management to a storm of criticism since the 2005 explosion at the Texas City, Texas, refinery where 15 workers lost their lives.
Ensure the consistency of corporate branding efforts targeted at various stakeholders. The risk of adapting each message to its recipients is that multiple, and sometimes conflicting, images may be projected, leading to confusion in the marketplace.
Carefully align your own behavior and decisions with the organizational identity claims you make inside and outside the firm.
Strive to realize synergies between handling identity at the level of the organization as a whole as well as at the level of individual brands under which your firm’s products and services are marketed.
Co-author Hamid Bouchikhi is a professor of strategy and management and the director of the New Business Center at ESSEC Business School in Cergy-Pontoise, France. John R. Kimberly is the Henry Bower Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Wharton as well as professor of management, health care systems and sociology.
The Soul of the Corporation: How to Manage the Identity of Your Company By Hamid Bouchikhi and John r. Kimberly
In the burgeoning Age of Identity, competitive advantage is shifting from what a product is to the identity of the firm that markets it. More than ever, a firm’s identity shapes the results it can achieve. The Soul of the Corporation: How to Manage the Identity of Your Company by Hamid Bouchikhi and John R. Kimberly offers managers a systematic, accessible, management-oriented way to understand, control and leverage their organization’s identity.
Drawing on stories from organizations such as McDonald’s, Lenovo, Ford and the Catholic Church, The Soul of the Corporation argues that while identity can be an extraordinarily valuable asset, it can also become a huge liability if not managed well. Using the strategies illustrated by the authors, managers will discover how their organization’s identity is related to and different from its organizational culture, brand positioning and reputation. Methods for managing the unconscious shared beliefs that give an organization coherence as well as how to face the identity challenges that arise in mergers, alliances, spin-offs and acquisitions are also addressed.
The Soul of the Corporation offers business leaders a set of actionable ideas and guidelines that can be used to enhance their ability to diagnose and manage identity issues. Business leaders should be aware of the following, for instance:
Be sure that the organizational identity projected through branding efforts is real. If it is not real, if it is mere sloganeering, competitors or other unfriendly stakeholders may turn these branding efforts against you. Failure to observe this rule has exposed the British Petroleum Company (BP) and its top management to a storm of criticism since the 2005 explosion at the Texas City, Texas, refinery where 15 workers lost their lives.
Ensure the consistency of corporate branding efforts targeted at various stakeholders. The risk of adapting each message to its recipients is that multiple, and sometimes conflicting, images may be projected, leading to confusion in the marketplace.
Carefully align your own behavior and decisions with the organizational identity claims you make inside and outside the firm.
Strive to realize synergies between handling identity at the level of the organization as a whole as well as at the level of individual brands under which your firm’s products and services are marketed.
Co-author Hamid Bouchikhi is a professor of strategy and management and the director of the New Business Center at ESSEC Business School in Cergy-Pontoise, France. John R. Kimberly is the Henry Bower Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Wharton as well as professor of management, health care systems and sociology.
Review from tambuzi.wordpress.com
http://tambuzi.wordpress.com/?s=soul+of+the+corporation
La verdad, al leer este libro, the soul of the corporation, pensé que no iba para mí este tema. En él se habla de la identidad corporativa -la forma como somos y como nos ven los otros- y de cómo esta ha cambiado desde una definición clara y consistente de esta en las organizaciones, hacia una época en la que la identidad es problemática debido a su ambigüedad. Un tema demasiado complejo para mí, y mi mente determinista.
Pero pensando un poco, empecé a encontrar paralelismos entre el concepto de identidad corporativa y el de identidad personal, y por eso me he decidió a escribir este post. La identidad corporativa puede basar en la combinación de varios factores: el núcleo del negocio, el conocimiento, la nacionalidad de la empresa, la filosofía de trabajo, o también la personalidad de un fundador legendario o un líder carismático. Cualquier factor que las personas que tienen intereses en la empresa -los llamados stakeholders, o sea empleados, propietarios, proveedores, clientes, bancos o accionistas- vean como central, duradero y distintivo forma parte de su identidad.
Por supuesto, tener una identidad clara y sobre todo consistente tiene muchas ventajas para los trabajadores en la empresa, como el conseguir que las personas se sientan identificadas con ella, que sean leales y estén dispuestas a sacrificarse, fomentan la cooperación, son un faro o una guía para la forma como se han de solucionar los problemas o como se toman las decisiones, y sobre todo dan autenticidad. Para las personas que interactúan con ella desde el exterior también tiene beneficios, como el reconocimiento, el ser atractiva y leal para hacer negocios con ella, y el ser de confianza y predecible en sus reacciones.
Pero cuidado, también la identidad puede degenerar en malas prácticas, como puede ser el narcisismo -cuando no somos capaces de cambiar la identidad si vemos señales de que esta no es viable- que deberemos intentar evitar manteniendo canales de información; conflictos de identidad -los diferentes actores de la empresa tienen diferente visión del alma de la empresa-, que se deberá paliar escogiendo un punto de vista y rechazando el otro, siempre teniendo presente que el conflicto muchas veces es bueno para la empresa; deriva -aunque la empresa tiene una identidad clara, pierde el norte, el camino-, que normalmente se produce con cambios de estrategia o entrada en nuevos negocios, y que nos obliga siempre que tengamos que hacer algún cambio de este tipo a definir la nueva identidad como parte de la nueva estrategia, o reafirmarse en la antigua; y para finalizar la fragmentación -demasiadas identidades dentro de la empresa, debido a que hay demasiadas subunidades dentro de esta- que hacen perder el propósito común de la organización, y que aunque hemos de tener claro que la fragmentación es inherente al género humano y por supuesto a las organizaciones, hemos de intentar armonizarlas en un núcleo común.
El libro habla también de cómo combinar identidades en el caso de fusiones de empresa, y o como desasociar identidades en el caso de separaciones. También da una guía para poder conocer la identidad de vuestra organización y un método para conseguir cambiar la identidad. No me voy a extender más en el tema, si necesitáis mas información podéis leer el libro, o comentádmelo y os envío mi resumen.
De lo que me gustaría hablar ahora es de la identidad personal. Yo creo que esta está formada por el género, la nacionalidad, el grupo social, pero sobre todo por los estudios, las creencias, los valores y la aptitud. ¿Y no pensáis que lo dicho anteriormente aplica también en vuestra identidad personal en el trabajo como líderes? Yo creo que sí, todo es aplicable, pero espero que os animéis en los comentarios.
La verdad, al leer este libro, the soul of the corporation, pensé que no iba para mí este tema. En él se habla de la identidad corporativa -la forma como somos y como nos ven los otros- y de cómo esta ha cambiado desde una definición clara y consistente de esta en las organizaciones, hacia una época en la que la identidad es problemática debido a su ambigüedad. Un tema demasiado complejo para mí, y mi mente determinista.
Pero pensando un poco, empecé a encontrar paralelismos entre el concepto de identidad corporativa y el de identidad personal, y por eso me he decidió a escribir este post. La identidad corporativa puede basar en la combinación de varios factores: el núcleo del negocio, el conocimiento, la nacionalidad de la empresa, la filosofía de trabajo, o también la personalidad de un fundador legendario o un líder carismático. Cualquier factor que las personas que tienen intereses en la empresa -los llamados stakeholders, o sea empleados, propietarios, proveedores, clientes, bancos o accionistas- vean como central, duradero y distintivo forma parte de su identidad.
Por supuesto, tener una identidad clara y sobre todo consistente tiene muchas ventajas para los trabajadores en la empresa, como el conseguir que las personas se sientan identificadas con ella, que sean leales y estén dispuestas a sacrificarse, fomentan la cooperación, son un faro o una guía para la forma como se han de solucionar los problemas o como se toman las decisiones, y sobre todo dan autenticidad. Para las personas que interactúan con ella desde el exterior también tiene beneficios, como el reconocimiento, el ser atractiva y leal para hacer negocios con ella, y el ser de confianza y predecible en sus reacciones.
Pero cuidado, también la identidad puede degenerar en malas prácticas, como puede ser el narcisismo -cuando no somos capaces de cambiar la identidad si vemos señales de que esta no es viable- que deberemos intentar evitar manteniendo canales de información; conflictos de identidad -los diferentes actores de la empresa tienen diferente visión del alma de la empresa-, que se deberá paliar escogiendo un punto de vista y rechazando el otro, siempre teniendo presente que el conflicto muchas veces es bueno para la empresa; deriva -aunque la empresa tiene una identidad clara, pierde el norte, el camino-, que normalmente se produce con cambios de estrategia o entrada en nuevos negocios, y que nos obliga siempre que tengamos que hacer algún cambio de este tipo a definir la nueva identidad como parte de la nueva estrategia, o reafirmarse en la antigua; y para finalizar la fragmentación -demasiadas identidades dentro de la empresa, debido a que hay demasiadas subunidades dentro de esta- que hacen perder el propósito común de la organización, y que aunque hemos de tener claro que la fragmentación es inherente al género humano y por supuesto a las organizaciones, hemos de intentar armonizarlas en un núcleo común.
El libro habla también de cómo combinar identidades en el caso de fusiones de empresa, y o como desasociar identidades en el caso de separaciones. También da una guía para poder conocer la identidad de vuestra organización y un método para conseguir cambiar la identidad. No me voy a extender más en el tema, si necesitáis mas información podéis leer el libro, o comentádmelo y os envío mi resumen.
De lo que me gustaría hablar ahora es de la identidad personal. Yo creo que esta está formada por el género, la nacionalidad, el grupo social, pero sobre todo por los estudios, las creencias, los valores y la aptitud. ¿Y no pensáis que lo dicho anteriormente aplica también en vuestra identidad personal en el trabajo como líderes? Yo creo que sí, todo es aplicable, pero espero que os animéis en los comentarios.
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