In the last three decades of increasing change and uncertainty, leaders in organizations have been engaging in a myriad of change efforts, some of which have only marginally succeeded, and most of which have failed outright. The unfortunate result of these change efforts is a wasteland of demoralized, exhausted, and jaded employees and leaders.

The reason that most change efforts fail has less to do with what the organization and its people are doing, and more to do with the dynamic of its corporate culture. Like countries, organizations have cultures — corporate cultures — consisting of visible artifacts such as language, structures, history, and ways of working and getting things done. But a critical aspect of a corporate culture is not visible — its ability and capacity to learn. Corporate culture dictates what an organization and its people are allowed to learn, and how they are allowed to learn it. Like an ocean, a corporate culture has strong flows and dynamics that shift and move people, decisions, learning, and actions in certain ways.

Many people simply go with the flow, learning by following others. Others try to initiate change efforts, often going against the flow, challenging and questioning the way things are done around here.