Culture Matters

Winter 2006 - 2007

We hope that you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and have kicked off the new year with a bang.  Spring is just around the corner and at least for some of us here at KeyStone, it can't come soon enough.

Best regards,

[February, 2007]

FEATURE ARTICLE
Home Depot Missing Recruitment Tools
by Mike Frommelt
Principal, KeyStone Search

The recent "resignation" of Bob Nardelli, former CEO of Home Depot, came as a shock to many outsiders.  On the inside, Nordelli's knack for angering employees, shareholders and even board members made his exit the catalyst for a number of "high fives" in Home Depot stores around the country.  The nifty $210 Million buyout Nordelli is receiving on his way out is creating outrage, both inside and out.
READ THE ARTICLE

BEST FROM AROUND THE WEB
As usual, the internet offered up numerous articles of interest regarding culture, leadership and related topics this quarter.  Below are a few that we felt were the most compelling.

Why WestJet's Culture Guru Chooses to Fly Under the Radar
by Brent Jang
From The Globe and Mail, January 22, 2007
WestJet, the extremely successful Canadian airline, has grown in large part by being intentional about their corporate culture. They are similar to Southwest Airlines in many ways, but certainly have their own look and feel. This article profiles one of the founders of WestJet and outlines some of the ways they have created a truly "empowered" workforce at the airline.
READ THE ARTICLE

Penney Remakes Culture to Remake Image & Penney Hoping Love is In Store
by Maria Halkias
From Dallas Morning News, February 12 & February 13
Both of the following articles, written by the same author, and published only a day apart, describe the current culture change going on at JC Penney. The first article looks at the change from an internal or operational perspective and the second looks at it from a branding and marketing perspective. It's very interesting to see these articles back to back, making it clear how internal culture and external image (brand) are inextricably linked.
READ THE ARTICLE

Jochen Zeitz: "A Brand is a Living Creature"
No Author cited
Credit Suisse E-Magazine February
This article also ties together branding and culture. It is a profile of the current CEO of Puma. He is credited with "reviving" the nearly extinct Puma brand a few years ago. As you read however, it becomes obvious that the internal culture changes were at least as important as the external face lift.
READ THE ARTICLE

JUST FOR FUN

Business Signs:
Are you sure the sign on your front door truly reflects your brand? Take a look (and maybe a lesson) from the following real business signs.

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