The fundament of any corporate culture is based on productivity. So it is the main productivity focus of a company that influences much of the corporate culture.

To see this relation, just imagine an investment company. A company that is dedicated to investments either in mutual funds, venture capital or managing third party investments. The company’s main productivity focus is in dealing with risk — exchanging risk between different partners. And this main focus will influence the culture of the organization. “Take risk, but in a calculated way,” could be a organizational rule.

Now think of the same company and the decision of the company to handle insurance products. The main business of insurance is also to do with risk, but in a different way — focused on avoiding risk.

What would be the impact of this decision on the culture of this organization? And why is this important?

Two Airplane manufacturers will — by sharing the same kind of business productivity — exhibit similar cultures. Engineering is an important factor, and the professional airplane environment is another factor that both will share. There will also be differences, for example when one company is European and the other American. One is Airbus, the other is Boeing.

Think of these companies at one moment in time, having both this similar business culture. Than take the impact of both company’s strategic focus on the culture of each organization. The first strategic focus is set on speed (by Boeing) the other strategic focus is set on Size (by Airbus).

Airbus was the first company that took the risk of redefining its strategy. The feedback loop — the time to develop and construct a new model is quite large. The initiative from Airbus to develop the new A380 model was (therefore) quite a challenge. It was a brave strategic move that required a even more serious implementation. And this implementation is where we — especially the Arab Emirates –are still waiting for. And at the moment it becomes clear that the implementation of the strategy is causing problems.