Chief Culture Officer

Why do companies hire CFOs, CHROs and CIOs? They do it because finance, HR, and IT are complex fields of strategic importance to the organization. In this context, it is absolutely normal to have specialists reporting directly to the top to keep an eye on the company’s commitments in these domains.
For Grant McCracken, culture is another equally strategic field, but which does not receive the same amount of attention. Companies that are able to keep up with the times and surf the waves of contemporary culture can quickly make a fortune, as shown by the emblematic examples of Apple or Starbucks. Conversely, swimming against the current during a major shift can be extremely costly.
In addition to making a vibrant plea for integrating culture into business strategy, this book aspires to be an indispensable handbook for “Chief Culture Officers.” It starts by showing how culturally sensitive individuals have influenced the strategy of multinationals like Nike, Volkswagen or Procter & Gamble. The author then calls upon his background in ethnology to suggest many tips to help companies concretely decipher their cultural environment. Finally, he analyzes a few fundamental cultural trends in contemporary society, such as the distinction between fast and slow culture, the friction between accepted social status and what is considered to be “cool,” and the increasing interaction between manufacturers and consumers.
Another strong point: the author does not duck the challenges faced by Chief Culture Officers, such as the obstacles posed by the company’s internal culture, which can make it deaf and blind to what is going on around it, or the difficulties of interacting with other top executives, who are often relatively insensitive to cultural issues.
The exclusive use of U.S. examples is a point that may bother readers from other countries. However, the author succeeds in drawing attention to an often discounted domain and does it in a clear, striking and convincing style.