Culture matters...

I read recently that Boing received FAA approval to again start flying their new 737 Max airliner, grounded in March 2019 for safety issues that led to 2 crashes. While lifting the grounding order, the FAA said the airplane maker has more to do as it works to improve its safety culture.  Companies big and small struggle to create a culture of excellence, without which, quality and innovation (and in this case safety) suffer. Leaders of every organization should assess their culture, their commitment to it, and ways in which it consistently and effectively cascades throughout their organizations. That takes vision, good planning, disciplined implementation, clear benchmarks and measures, continuous learning, clear accountabilities, personal and organizational integrity, AND effective communications… all of which are the basic tenets and foundations of good organizations. And all of these things have to be in place before any organization can hit its stride: Boeing, as good as they are, lost sight of this. If you want to be innovative and successful, decide what you want your culture to be, ask good questions, be self-critical, and never cut corners.  To recover, Boing used persistence to turn an embarrassing and costly failure into an extraordinary achievement: they went back to basics, ate some humble pie, and re-established a culture of innovation and excellence. Whatever you’re working on – big or small, in the best of times or in these challenging Covid-19 times, be persistent in the pursuit of your goals today.

Matt Biondi (born 1965): Olympic Medalist, Professional Swimmer