When push comes to shove, there are only really two things that an organization needs to do if it wants to be successful. It needs to
Serve customers well
and
Do it efficiently
If the organization can accomplish this better than the competition, it will be more successful and make more money.
The fact is that collaborative culture organization serve customers better and they do it more efficiently. Thus, they are more successful.
Make a list of several completely successful organizations. Now make a list of unsuccessful organizations. You will see that the first list represent companies that serve customers better and they do it more efficiently. The unsuccessful companies, on the other hand, give relatively poor customer service and they are less efficient.
One of the best examples is in the automobile business. GM did not give good service. Yes, they probably had a bunch of nice people, but they made cars that did not have the high-standard of quality. Toyota, on the other hand, made better cars. Toyota developed "just-in-time" inventory methods and other things that made it more efficient. GM employees were too busy negotiating health-care benefits to spend a lot of time trying to improve efficiency. The results are clear.
For another example look at Southwest Airlines as compared to the most of the rest of the airlines.
GM and most of the airlines are bureaucratic cultures. Toyota and Southwest are collaborative cultures. Do we think there is a difference? Which would you rather drive or fly?
Yes, culture matters a lot!
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