In a debate about motivation in organisations on Chris Corrigan's blog, Robert Paterson comments on why some can't engage their staff. He says

I suspect that their cultural immune system is too powerful. This inability to change culture is I think opening up the competitive window of our time.

For instance, all the traditional airlines know that Southwest gets its low costs by its flexibility and gets its flexibility from its staff culture. Yet, they, the traditional airlines, cannot respond. They cannot change their command and control culure. Consequently, they are prepared to die as organizatins rather than give up their culture.

This observation resonates strongly and calls attention to one of the challenges where branding has frequently failed. A combination of instrumental thinking by marketers and a general obsession with "best practice" rather than celebrating the more complex qualities of being human, probably drives out the kind of spirit that characterises Southwest.
posted by Johnnie M, 9:41 AM  permalink