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Energize Your Company's Culture\nJon Katzenbach and Gretchen Anderson are co-authors of\xa0The Critical Few: Energize Your Company's Culture by Choosing What Really Matters.\xa0They spoke with Brian Ardinger, Inside Outside Innovation founder, about why culture is important for innovation and how to tap into the behaviors and emotions that can make a significant cultural impact.\xa0\n\n\nThe Critical Few\nTheir book,\xa0The Critical Few, looks at working within an organization and drawing on a company\u2019s strengths, rather than looking at what\u2019s not working.\xa0Lessons are written within the story of a fictional CEO, focused on a company\u2019s culture.\xa0While there are many universal issues of culture, Jon and Gretchen recognize that all cultures are singular and unique and that people within the company impact that culture.\xa0\n\n\nTraits, Behaviors, and Emotional Connectors\nJon and Gretchen explain that we must identify what the cultural traits are within a company, behavior that is happening around those traits, and who the people are within the company that have their fingers on the pulse of the culture.\xa0These elements are the critical few areas that can impact culture.\xa0For example, within one large health care organization, the critical behavior was around collaboration.\xa0The company narrowed in on this behavior and found those employees doing it well.\xa0Once you understand what\u2019s happening in culture, you can develop programs to address these areas.\xa0Ideas need to come from people doing the work.\xa0\n\n\nInnovation Needs to be as Unique as your Thumbprint\nCritical Few also refers to the traits that have emotional sources which clients can tap into to create critical behaviors.\xa0Behavior also depends on where it\u2019s happening within the company.\xa0Focus in on a few behaviors.\xa0Follow these traits to a few specific emotions that the company can encourage. The company is reliant on specific people who have tapped into these particular emotions. When identifying cultural traits for companies that want to be more innovative, ask yourself \u201cWhat would innovation look like given who you are.\u201d\xa0It must be how an organization already likes to behave.\n\n\nInnovative Companies Focus on\xa0Strategy, Operations and Culture\nJon and Gretchen see relationships between companies that focus on a broader range of metrics and their ability to innovate, and companies that are less hierarchal and their ability to innovate.\xa0Companies are saying that they must approach culture with the same effort as strategy and operations. Leaders understand things are changing. Innovation is going to be easier if you also tackle culture issues.\n\n\nFor More Information\nTo connect with Jon and Gretchen check out\xa0https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/the-critical-few.\xa0They are also on Twitter and LinkedIn where they post new research and articles they love.\n\n\nIf you liked this episode, you might also enjoy:\n - Ep. 130\u2013 Canopy Insight\u2019s Victoria Gerstman on Culture\u2019s Influence on Brands & Semiotics\n - Ep. 124\xa0\u2013 Amy Radin, Author of The Change Maker\u2019s Playbook & FinTech Guru\n - Ep. 104\xa0\u2013 Shane Snow \u2013 Author of Dream Teams: Working Together without Falling Apart\n\n\nFind this episode of\xa0Inside Outside Innovation at\xa0insideoutside.io. You can also listen\xa0on\xa0Acast,\xa0iTunes,\xa0Sticher, Spotify, and\xa0Google Play.\n\xa0\n\n\nFREE INNOVATION NEWSLETTER\nGet the latest episodes of the Inside Outside Innovation podcast, in addition to thought leadership in the form of blogs, innovation resources, videos, and invitations to exclusive events. SUBSCRIBE HERE For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy