You have likely heard the expression “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” It is often attributed to Peter Drucker.
I must admit, it is a philosophy that has not always sat well with me. I understand the intention behind the quote, but I am not sure I have ever taken it as fact.
Recently, one of my business partners gave me the book The Maverick Manifesto by Tony Balfour, a wonderful short read. Balfour references this quote in the book and says:
“Drucker’s quote may be the most abused at the board table. There are two problems with it. One, Drucker never said it, and two, it is nonsense.”
Instinctively, that line made a lot of sense to me.
I have been a student of Drucker’s since I first went into business, and I feel I have a strong understanding of his philosophies around both strategy and culture.
What I always understood is that Drucker treated both with equal importance.
It is generally accepted that culture can be defined by four separate categories. Each business is a mix of all four, in different proportions.
Market: Results-driven and competitive, focused on winning, targets, and measurable outcomes.
Adhocracy: Innovative and entrepreneurial, driven by creativity, risk-taking, and new ideas.
Clan: People-focused and collaborative, built on trust, relationships, and a strong sense of team.
Autocratic: Controlled and directive, where decisions are centralised, and leadership sets the course.
When a quote like “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” permeates a business, the focus is often placed on culture alone. But where is the focus on strategy? What direction is the team heading in? What is the purpose driving the business?
Having read a multitude of books on culture over the years, very few are written with a sales and results-driven business in mind.
When defining a “good” culture, authors often emphasise the importance of Clan and Adhocracy elements. The feeling of a family, or the space for an individual’s creativity to shine.
And while there is certainly a place for these in real estate, an appropriate emphasis must also be placed on the Market and Autocratic elements of your culture.
Absolutely not. You can have the perfect strategy defined for your business, but without the support or implementation through the right people, success is unlikely to be achieved.
Many great business ideas never impacted their markets because the intention or the delivery behind the strategy wasn’t supported through the right culture.
One of the greatest problems within the real estate industry however is that most are simply trying to execute the same strategy. With consumers’ trust of agents at historically low levels, and an industry focused on racing to the bottom in terms of commissions to stay competitive, now is the time for new strategies to be formed and delivered.
Strategy and culture within your business should complement one another. One is not built on the other. Each strengthens and protects the other.
The right strategy requires the right culture to be executed. The right culture must be lived by the right people who understand the purpose and strategy behind the business.
Strategy does not come first, and neither does culture. Vision does.
You chose to build a business. You likely left a previous agency and decided to go out on your own. You did this for a reason: a vision.
Do you still have that vision? Are you working toward it? Or have you lost it in the process of simply trying to get through each month?
Great business leaders give themselves the time and space to think about their business.
As cliché as it may sound, they carve out time to work on their business rather than in it.
A holiday with your family is not the ideal time to do this, nor is a typical working week when you are managing people, results, and expenses.
That is why at Smartre Training, we run a five-day Management Seminar multiple times throughout the year. These five days provide you with insights into your business that you may not have otherwise considered.
It highlights where you can improve and where you can dominate your market.
Most importantly, it gives you time. Time to work on the vision of your business, along with guidance around the strategies and cultural elements required to achieve it.
Culture does not eat strategy for breakfast, nor does strategy outweigh culture. Vision and execution have always defined business success. You simply need the time to plan both properly.
Our next Management Seminar will be held in Melbourne from July 19th to 23rd.
Can you take five days out of your business to properly define its direction over the coming years?
We hope you can.
You have likely heard the expression “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” It is often attributed to Peter Drucker.
I must admit, it is a philosophy that has not always sat well with me. I understand the intention behind the quote, but I am not sure I have ever taken it as fact.
Recently, one of my business partners gave me the book The Maverick Manifesto by Tony Balfour, a wonderful short read. Balfour references this quote in the book and says:
“Drucker’s quote may be the most abused at the board table. There are two problems with it. One, Drucker never said it, and two, it is nonsense.”
Instinctively, that line made a lot of sense to me.
I have been a student of Drucker’s since I first went into business, and I feel I have a strong understanding of his philosophies around both strategy and culture.
What I always understood is that Drucker treated both with equal importance.
It is generally accepted that culture can be defined by four separate categories. Each business is a mix of all four, in different proportions.
Market: Results-driven and competitive, focused on winning, targets, and measurable outcomes.
Adhocracy: Innovative and entrepreneurial, driven by creativity, risk-taking, and new ideas.
Clan: People-focused and collaborative, built on trust, relationships, and a strong sense of team.
Autocratic: Controlled and directive, where decisions are centralised, and leadership sets the course.
When a quote like “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” permeates a business, the focus is often placed on culture alone. But where is the focus on strategy? What direction is the team heading in? What is the purpose driving the business?
Having read a multitude of books on culture over the years, very few are written with a sales and results-driven business in mind.
When defining a “good” culture, authors often emphasise the importance of Clan and Adhocracy elements. The feeling of a family, or the space for an individual’s creativity to shine.
And while there is certainly a place for these in real estate, an appropriate emphasis must also be placed on the Market and Autocratic elements of your culture.
Absolutely not. You can have the perfect strategy defined for your business, but without the support or implementation through the right people, success is unlikely to be achieved.
Many great business ideas never impacted their markets because the intention or the delivery behind the strategy wasn’t supported through the right culture.
One of the greatest problems within the real estate industry however is that most are simply trying to execute the same strategy. With consumers’ trust of agents at historically low levels, and an industry focused on racing to the bottom in terms of commissions to stay competitive, now is the time for new strategies to be formed and delivered.
Strategy and culture within your business should complement one another. One is not built on the other. Each strengthens and protects the other.
The right strategy requires the right culture to be executed. The right culture must be lived by the right people who understand the purpose and strategy behind the business.
Strategy does not come first, and neither does culture. Vision does.
You chose to build a business. You likely left a previous agency and decided to go out on your own. You did this for a reason: a vision.
Do you still have that vision? Are you working toward it? Or have you lost it in the process of simply trying to get through each month?
Great business leaders give themselves the time and space to think about their business.
As cliché as it may sound, they carve out time to work on their business rather than in it.
A holiday with your family is not the ideal time to do this, nor is a typical working week when you are managing people, results, and expenses.
That is why at Smartre Training, we run a five-day Management Seminar multiple times throughout the year. These five days provide you with insights into your business that you may not have otherwise considered.
It highlights where you can improve and where you can dominate your market.
Most importantly, it gives you time. Time to work on the vision of your business, along with guidance around the strategies and cultural elements required to achieve it.
Culture does not eat strategy for breakfast, nor does strategy outweigh culture. Vision and execution have always defined business success. You simply need the time to plan both properly.
Our next Management Seminar will be held in Melbourne from July 19th to 23rd.
Can you take five days out of your business to properly define its direction over the coming years?
We hope you can.
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