I have been following the work of Grant McCracken for a while and have yet to be disappointed. McCracken is an anthropologist that studies culture in organizations and has taught at MIT, Harvard and is a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. Following his previous work Chief Culture Officer in 2011, his latest book on Culture is just as informative and more importantly, for summer reading, entertaining. Culturematic is about making an ingenuity engine that drives performance – something sorely needed in this economy. For emerging producers of culture, this book serves as a digital guide to the territory. For traditional producers of culture – hopefully the book will act as a source of inspiration. How to manage innovation from the C-suite? This book provides some welcome guidelines for creating a culture of innovation. If you want to get ahead of your competition, the most secret sauce of competitive advantage is your culture. McCracken shows you both why and how. He blogs extensively at culture by.com on the intersection points between anthropology and economics. Worth checking out.
Tag Archives: strategy
The Organization of the Future
Happy New Year! This book will inspire you in 2011. The Leader to Leader Institute has always been a source of excellent reads – and this is no exception. Twenty-six essays from some of the recognized thought leaders of our time. Sub-titled visions, strategies, and insights on managing in a new era, the book is filled with practical wisdom that will guide you in purpose and performance.
The Organization of the Future (The Drucker Foundation)
ReWork
Simple, straightforward and based in experience, ReWork speaks to a different approach to strategic intent. What you do is what matters, not what you think or say. The most important thing to do is begin. Interesting advice – expanded by the authors into a playbook for leveraging creativity. I may not agree with everything proposed, but an interesting and enjoyable read!
Territorial Games
Annette Simmons is legendary in the field of corporate storytelling and organizational development. In this work, she explores turf wars and how to survive them. Territorial Games explains what emotions are driving behavior and how to recognize what game is being played. Game playing is an unfortunate reality of the workplace and its presence can kill creative capital. The important point to remember is once the game is exposed, it loses its power. Laid bare, games are much more easily defused. For anyone who has been the victim of corporate sabotage – here are some tried and true strategies to see your way clear.
MythGinger 