The culture challenge

In it the author dissects the techniques leaders-both modern-day and historical-have employed to achieve this goal

WHAT YOU DO IS WHAT YOU ARE: How To Create A Business Culture

Author: Ben Horowitz | Publisher: William Collins | Price: Rs 699

Ben Horowitz, the author of this book, had founded a company in 1999 called LoudCloud. In his organisation was a middle-rung manager who he discovered was a compulsive liar. Mr Horowitz got rid of him eventually, but it perturbed him that such a person had not only survived for long in his organisation, but had even been promoted. He fretted about the kind of signal it sent out to his other employees. This incident, and others like it, led Mr Horowitz to dwell on how he could instil the right culture within his company. This book is the result of 18 long years of research and cogitation. In it he dissects the techniques leaders—both modern-day and historical—have employed to achieve this goal. Among those whose stories he narrates is Robert Noyce, coinventor of the microchip. Noyce ran Fairchild Semiconductor in California. It was a unit of New York-headquartered Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation. The parent organisation was hierarchical—almost feudal—in character. Noyce, on the other hand, tried to foster a highly egalitarian culture within his unit—a prerequisite, he felt, for an organisation whose very survival rested on its ability to innovate. 

New ideas are often ungainly in their early stages. They need to be protected, nurtured and refined. A hierarchical culture, where failure is punished, does not allow new ideas to flourish as employees stick to the tried and the tested. Noyce fostered a culture where the individual was valued. Ideas were evaluated on merit, irrespective of whom they came from. Many Fairchild Semiconductor  employees went on to found some of Silicon Valley’s marquee companies. They ran them along the same egalitarian lines they had experienced at Fairchild. Thus, Noyce, who later co-founded Intel, can, to a large extent be credited with fostering the collegial culture that is the hallmark of Silicon Valley companies today. 

A gripping story of cultural transformation Mr Horowitz narrates is that of Toussaint Louverture (TL), leader of the Haitian slave revolt. Slavery has existed since ancient times, but in its long history only one revolt has led to the establishment of an independent state—the one in Haiti. 

Slavery shatters the human spirit. A slave has little incentive to work thoughtfully as the fruits of his labour do not accrue to him. Slavery fosters utter lack of trust in fellow human beings. How TL, with an army of slaves, created a cohesive force that defeated all the leading European powers of the late 18th and early 19th century—Spain, Britain and France—is an awe-inspiring story.  

Two techniques TL used merit recounting. Despite opposition from his black followers, he incorporated white French deserters into his army. He felt he needed to learn from people well versed in French military strategy to be able to defeat the French army. According to Mr Horowitz, when trying to penetrate a new market, today’s leaders, too, need to bring in leadership that has experience of that segment.  

After he established control over St. Domingue (the pre-revolutionary name of Haiti), TL did not wrest control of the plantations from white planters, much to the chagrin of his black followers. He realised only they possessed the knowledge required to run the plantations, which were vital for Haiti’s economic survival. Mr Horowitz says leaders at times need to take decisions that may appear incongruous to their followers. But such decisions signal in no uncertain terms where the leader’s priorities lie. 

Readers will also find appealing the story of Genghis Khan, history’s most effective military leader, who in his lifetime conquered an area equal to the size of Africa. An egalitarian culture lay behind his success, too. In traditional medieval armies, the leaders rode on horseback and the troops marched on foot.  Khan’s army, organised on egalitarian principles, consisted entirely of cavalry. Each man carried his own supplies. It could cover 65 miles in a day and strike with lightning swiftness.   

Khan valued merit. Positions of responsibility were bestowed not on the basis of kinship, but on ability and loyalty. He was also a master of inclusivity. When he defeated an army, he exterminated the aristocracy but absorbed its soldiers into his own with the promise that they, too, would share in the spoils of future conquests. 

Things are not so different in modern corporations. Today, employee loyalty is won through profit-sharing mechanisms like stock options. Corporate employees, too, hanker for fairness in promotions. Break this sacred compact and what follows inevitably is low morale and high employee churn.