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tried and tested solutions and ended with practical approaches that work
in the real world. Not only should you consider trying them, but you may
wish to enlist the help of your training department. If you do the latter be
sure that they recognize that you are a customer and it is their responsi-
bility to meet your needs. That means that unless they can convince you
that they know a better way, they either do things your way and get the
results that you demand or you spend your budget elsewhere.

Summary

I My assumptions and knowledge about how the world works form
I my attitudes. The logic of that connection means that changing
I my attitudes is a tough task. If, however, you can persuade me to
I try a different behaviour I may find that others start to behave
I differently toward me in return. This changes my worldview,
I which in turn, influences my attitudes. So my new, more
I successful behaviour is reinforced and my attitudes change
I permanently.

Corporate culture

Culture sounds like a rather grand thing. In real life all that it means is
“the way that we do things around here”. Putting it another way culture
is a repertoire of behaviours. From time to time you need to think if those
behaviours are appropriate to the organization’s present needs, because
you understand that the one thing that is relatively easy to change, if nec-
essary, is behaviour. Look for indications that your culture is no longer
serving the needs of your business.

n Is there a high turnover of staff?
– Do you tend to lose the good people?

n Do people tend to do only enough to get by?
– Is productivity low?
– Is morale a problem?
– Is there a general air of pessimism?
– Do important and urgent things have to wait their turn?

n Do customers complain about the difficulty of talking to a real
person who understands their needs?
– Are lines of communication too long to get things done
effectively? (Tom Murphy, an ex-chairman of GM once
expressed the problems of the corporation by saying: “We have
lines of communication so long that nobody clearly understands
what is expected of them or what their levels of authority may

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