The Culture Engine: A Framework for Driving Results, Inspiring Your Employees, and Transforming Your Workplace

Praise for the culture engine “Chris Edmonds has spent his career helping organizational leaders clarify, communicate, and align actions around shared values. In this book, Chris reveals his tools of the trade. This practical, experience–based, easy–to–use guide enables you to build an inspiring organizational culture with confidence and determination.” —Jim Kouzes, coauthor, The Leadership Challenge , and Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University “Culture drives every aspect of an organization’s success. In The Culture Engine , Chris clearly spells out how to shift your focus from chasing markets to building a strong, flexible organizational culture founded on clarity of purpose, workplace satisfaction, and bottom–line success.” —Marshall Goldsmith, author of the global bestseller What Got You Here Won’t Get You There “Chris Edmonds’ approach will boost your team’s spirit, trust, and performance. WD–40 Company’s tribe culture is built upon these same concepts. Get this book and create your organization’s constitution!” —Garry Ridge, president/CEO of WD–40 Company, author, Helping People Win At Work “Organizational culture and performance are intricately interwoven. In this book, Chris shows how to create and use an organizational constitution, a breakthrough tool to help you shape this elusive yet critically important ingredient to organizational success.” —Jesse Stoner, coauthor, Full Steam Ahead: Unleash the Power of Vision “Where has this book been? The Culture Engine demystifies the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of driving your company’s culture to produce transformational business success. Chris operationalizes culture while offering practical tools necessary to align your people and gain profound competitive advantage.” —Joseph Michelli, New York Times Bestselling author of Leading the Starbucks Way and The Zappos Experience “Chris’ book is a concrete road map to creating and managing a productive and inspiring organizational culture. His idea of an organizational constitution is brilliant! Everyone deserves a purpose–driven work environment where employees feel trusted, valued, and respected. Chris shows you how.” —Hyrum Smith, cofounder of FranklinCovey “Everyone knows culture is important but most don’t know ‘how’ to change their culture. Chris presents a detailed road map to help any leader deliver an inspiring culture that generates lasting organizational success.” —Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Walmart.com

Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction How did I learn about organizational constitutions? How is the book structured? Chapter 1: What is an organizational constitution, and why do you need one? What is the condition of your team or company’s culture, right now? The concept of perfection How civil is your workplace? Who is in charge of culture? Create a pocket of excellence An organizational constitution is a “disruptive technology” in your workplace The Performance–Values Matrix The costs of measuring only performance How does an organizational constitution help your company, department, or team? Client impact Your leadership legacy Chapter 2: It starts with YOU Clarify your personal purpose Clarify your personal values and aligned behaviors Define your values Add observable, tangible, measurable behaviors to each value Your values, definitions, and behaviors Formalize your leadership philosophy Key elements (present day) Desirable outcomes (future state) Live well to serve and lead well Servant leadership is the foundation Chapter 3: Clarify your organization’s purpose What is an effective purpose statement? Communicating your company’s “reason for being” What is your team or company’s “actual purpose?” Humans are drawn to and inspired by Great Purpose Crafting a Compelling, Inspiring Purpose Statement Chapter 4: Define values in behavioral terms Why Do You Need Values Defined In Behavioral Terms? Your beliefs may not be aligned Build your values foundation on behaviors Step–by–step guidelines for creating valued behaviors Define your values Include observable, tangible, and measurable behaviors for each value Your values, definitions, and behaviors Chapter 5: Outline strategies and goals for the coming fiscal year Who is in charge of communicating your business strategies and goals? Measure the right things Build a draft of your team or company’s strategic plan and goals Chapter 6: Your organizational constitution must be LIVED Engage all leaders in your organizational constitution’s implementation Describe the Way Align the Way “Contribution management” instead of  “performance management” The values–aligned tribe culture at WD–40 Companies Chapter 7: Gathering formal feedback on valued behaviors Is it responsibility or accountability? Crafting your custom values survey Leaders must be rated on their values alignment first Chapter 8: Dealing with resistance What does resistance look like? How must a leader address resistance? Chapter 9: Hiring for values alignment How do you hire today? Before the hire – recruiting, interviewing, and assessing After the hire – orientation and integration What if the new hire just doesn’t fit? Chapter 10: Don’t leave your organizational culture to chance Long–term alignment vs. short–term results Scoring your Culture Effectiveness Assessment Implementing an organizational constitution is an ongoing project Keep me informed Author Biography

S. CHRIS EDMONDS is the founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group, an organizational culture consulting firm. Since 1995, he has also served as a senior consultant with the Ken Blanchard Companies. Over the course of his career, Chris has delivered over 100 keynote speeches, authored or coauthored 6 books, and consulted for clients in almost every industry. He is an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego’s School of Business.