The Inertia of Culture

...it is dangerous to think that organizational culture can be changed quickly or easily.

We use the word "culture" to mark the elements of social behavior and meaning that are stable and strongly resist change.  As a blunt and vivid example, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot killed one-fifth of the Cambodian population, executed almost every intellectual, burned almost all books, and outlawed religion, banks, currency and private property, but still did not much alter Cambodian culture. 

The cultures of organizations are more lightly held than those of nationality, religion or ethnicity.  Still, it is dangerous to think that organizational culture can be changed quickly or easily.

ACTION POINT: Don't underestimate the resistance to change based on organizational cultural norms.