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The Secret of Culture Change: How to Build Authentic Stories That Transform Your Organization
Find out how bold actions by visionary leaders can inspire powerful stories that drive culture change.
Data indicates that most strategic efforts to change a company's culture fail. So how do companies succeed in this endeavor?
A top strategy professor and two highly successful CEOs found that, in companies that had successfully changed their culture, leaders had taken dramatic actions that embodied the new cultural values. These actions inspired stories that became company legends, repeated in every department and handed on to new employees.
Through compiling and analyzing 150 stories from business leaders who have achieved change, they identified 6 attributes that every successful culture change story has in
1.The actions are authentic
2.They revolve around the CEO
3.They signal a clean break with the past, and a clear path to the future
4.They appeal to employee heads and hearts
5.They're often theatrical or dramatic
6.They're told, and re-told, throughout the organization
With extensive and inspiring examples of stories containing these attributes, the authors illustrate how readers can harness the power of stories within their company in order to change or create a winning culture to align with any strategy.
Data indicates that most strategic efforts to change a company's culture fail. So how do companies succeed in this endeavor?
A top strategy professor and two highly successful CEOs found that, in companies that had successfully changed their culture, leaders had taken dramatic actions that embodied the new cultural values. These actions inspired stories that became company legends, repeated in every department and handed on to new employees.
Through compiling and analyzing 150 stories from business leaders who have achieved change, they identified 6 attributes that every successful culture change story has in
1.The actions are authentic
2.They revolve around the CEO
3.They signal a clean break with the past, and a clear path to the future
4.They appeal to employee heads and hearts
5.They're often theatrical or dramatic
6.They're told, and re-told, throughout the organization
With extensive and inspiring examples of stories containing these attributes, the authors illustrate how readers can harness the power of stories within their company in order to change or create a winning culture to align with any strategy.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 8, 2023
About the author
Jay B. Barney
20 books15 followersProfessor Barney's research focuses on the relationship between firm resources and capabilities and sustained competitive advantage. He has published over 100 articles and eight books. He has been on the editorial boards at the Academy of Management Review and the Strategic Management Journal, has been Associate Editor at the Journal of Management, senior editor at Organization Science, Co-Editor at the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, and served as the editor-in-chief of the leading theory journal in the field of management, the Academy of Management Review.
He has been elected as a Fellow of both the Academy of Management and the Strategic Management Society and has won the Irwin Outstanding Educator Award, the Academy of Management Scholarly Contributions Award, the Eccles School of Management outstanding research award, the Penrose Award for Pathbreaking Management, the CK Prahalad Scholar-Practitioner Award, the Foundational Paper Award, the John Fayerweather Eminent Scholar Award, and the Distinguished Scholarship Award.
He has been elected as a Fellow of both the Academy of Management and the Strategic Management Society and has won the Irwin Outstanding Educator Award, the Academy of Management Scholarly Contributions Award, the Eccles School of Management outstanding research award, the Penrose Award for Pathbreaking Management, the CK Prahalad Scholar-Practitioner Award, the Foundational Paper Award, the John Fayerweather Eminent Scholar Award, and the Distinguished Scholarship Award.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 7, 2023
Excellent.
If you are a Culture or People or Org Development leader, here are a few insights I picked up from Dr. Barney’s work for you:
1️⃣ Don’t start with storytelling. Start with storybuilding.
👉🏼 That is, DO intentional things knowing that they will become stories later. Take actions that represent a clean break from that past, and are consistent with the new / desired culture. Live the story first. Then tell those stories.
(The book has lots of great examples of what these stories sound like, by the way. It’s a delight to read. Don’t miss it.)
2️⃣ The stories should be about senior leaders. (At least at the beginning.) If you are a leader, accept that YOU will be in the story.
👉🏼 “We saw no examples — zero — of successful culture change that did not start at the top.” Leaders need to get comfortable with the idea that they will be the “stars” of the stories. (In the beginning, anyway.)
3️⃣ Don’t be afraid of a bit of “theatricality”.
👉🏼 Barney has some great stories of leaders who engineered dramatic culture-shifting actions with the intent of spreading those stories later. Drama, ritual, and theatricality can serve you well.
4️⃣ Yes, there is a place for employee stories! Invite stories of “new culture behaviors”, and retell them as they start to emerge.
If you are a Culture or People or Org Development leader, here are a few insights I picked up from Dr. Barney’s work for you:
1️⃣ Don’t start with storytelling. Start with storybuilding.
👉🏼 That is, DO intentional things knowing that they will become stories later. Take actions that represent a clean break from that past, and are consistent with the new / desired culture. Live the story first. Then tell those stories.
(The book has lots of great examples of what these stories sound like, by the way. It’s a delight to read. Don’t miss it.)
2️⃣ The stories should be about senior leaders. (At least at the beginning.) If you are a leader, accept that YOU will be in the story.
👉🏼 “We saw no examples — zero — of successful culture change that did not start at the top.” Leaders need to get comfortable with the idea that they will be the “stars” of the stories. (In the beginning, anyway.)
3️⃣ Don’t be afraid of a bit of “theatricality”.
👉🏼 Barney has some great stories of leaders who engineered dramatic culture-shifting actions with the intent of spreading those stories later. Drama, ritual, and theatricality can serve you well.
4️⃣ Yes, there is a place for employee stories! Invite stories of “new culture behaviors”, and retell them as they start to emerge.
November 23, 2023
If you’re looking for one more book to fit into 2023 or add to your 2024 stack, I highly recommend diving into this one!
As a leader of a culture and employee experience capability in M&A, this book landed in my hands at the right time. In the pace of business. We often minimize or almost completely forgo - even unknowingly, and understandably - the human element of change and hope that people will just catch on and ride the wave. Barney, Amorim, and Julio do such a wonderful job mapping out an approach to using authentic storytelling, paired with other tactics, to connect more humanely to culture change. Half-way through, I was already contemplating how to actively apply this concept in our practice with leaders.
As a leader of a culture and employee experience capability in M&A, this book landed in my hands at the right time. In the pace of business. We often minimize or almost completely forgo - even unknowingly, and understandably - the human element of change and hope that people will just catch on and ride the wave. Barney, Amorim, and Julio do such a wonderful job mapping out an approach to using authentic storytelling, paired with other tactics, to connect more humanely to culture change. Half-way through, I was already contemplating how to actively apply this concept in our practice with leaders.
August 4, 2023
One of the best books on culture change I’ve ever read. Good solid principles backed by research AND people who’ve actually done what they’re talking about.
Well written, giving six principles, broken down into chapters, each built upon as the lessons are expanded and principles added.
Far from the ‘let the inmates run the asylum’ we get in leadership today, this book actually discusses layoffs, restructuring, HR policies, and pairing down diversity in order to build culture. Even profits are highly regarded!!!
An excellent read, worth the time and effort, and essential if your companies wish to remain competitive in today’s business world.
Very highly recommended
Well written, giving six principles, broken down into chapters, each built upon as the lessons are expanded and principles added.
Far from the ‘let the inmates run the asylum’ we get in leadership today, this book actually discusses layoffs, restructuring, HR policies, and pairing down diversity in order to build culture. Even profits are highly regarded!!!
An excellent read, worth the time and effort, and essential if your companies wish to remain competitive in today’s business world.
Very highly recommended
September 29, 2025
A very detailed take on change management and how to bring in a change in ways of working or implementing a new strategy by focusing on right communication which appeases the mind and the heart. Great examples from around the world and really broad based to help across many situations. Great book overall.
February 11, 2024
A great book filled with stories and strategies from business leaders to help you help you develop your own story to help achieve culture change in your business. Full of lots of useful ideas and information.
April 27, 2024
A very interesting book of business strategies and business stories designed to help improve one's business. It is definitely a book that those interested in business strategies should give it a look.
*I received this as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
*I received this as part of a Goodreads giveaway.
October 17, 2025
A good framework for changing culture: don't announce it, but instead use stories to connect with the head and hearts of the organization. The stories aren't fairy tales or historical narratives but ones that star you and convey the culture you want. Lots of examples.
March 22, 2024
Good, solid, common-sense advice which can actually be implemented for positive change. Writing is clear and easy to understand. Book is well-organized and succinct.
September 8, 2023
"If you want to change your organization's culture, start by building stories." According to the authors, this is the "secret" way to change your organization's culture. The book goes on and shares 38 different stories of people who successfully transformed their organization's culture. After each story, the authors explain why the story works and how you can do the same for your organization by creating your own stories, building on these examples.
This book is not only a blueprint on how to change your organizations culture but is also just an interesting read of the different stories of how people transformed their organizations.
This book is not only a blueprint on how to change your organizations culture but is also just an interesting read of the different stories of how people transformed their organizations.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews