The Critical Few

About the Author

Jon Katzenbach is a recognized expert in organizational performance, collaboration, corporate governance, culture challenges, and employee motivation. He is the founder of the Katzenbach Center at Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting business. James Thomas is a partner with PwC’s Strategy& based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and leads the Katzenbach Center in the Middle East. Gretchen Anderson is a director at the Katzenbach Center, where she works with client teams across the globe operating at the intersection of strategy and organizational performance.

Main Idea

"The Critical Few: Energize Your Company’s Culture by Choosing What Really Matters" by Jon Katzenbach, James Thomas, and Gretchen Anderson identifies the three most critical cultural elements leaders need to focus on: traits, keystone behaviors, and authentic informal leaders (AILs). By leveraging these elements, leaders can tap into a source of catalytic change within their organization, making an emotional and rational commitment to new initiatives, thereby eliciting enthusiasm, creativity, and building a powerful company recognized for its value and effectiveness.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Why Aligning Culture Matters
3. Why Cultural Alignment Is Tricky
4. The Three Critical Cultural Elements
5. Finding and Cultivating Traits
6. Keystone Behaviors
7. Authentic Informal Leaders (AILs)
8. Measuring Cultural Action
9. Conclusion

Introduction

Change is challenging, and its success often hinges on how leaders engage with their organizational culture. Culture, being implicit and emotional rather than explicit and rational, is both powerful and difficult to manage. This book emphasizes that leaders must focus on traits, keystone behaviors, and authentic informal leaders to mobilize lasting change.

"The fate of any change effort depends on whether and how leaders engage their culture." - Jon Katzenbach

Why Aligning Culture Matters

Every organization has a unique cultural situation, but all share a commonality: the need to engage their culture for meaningful change. Ignoring or misaligning culture reduces the likelihood of achieving strategic goals. Culture encompasses deeply held attitudes, entrenched habits, repeated behaviors, latent emotions, and collective perceptions. It is the shared set of assumptions brought to work, making it crucial for organizational success.

"Eighty percent of respondents to the Katzenbach Center global survey on culture believe that their organization must evolve to succeed, grow, and retain the best people." - Jon Katzenbach

Why Cultural Alignment Is Tricky

Organizations have both an overarching culture and divergent subcultures, creating complexity. While leaders are trained to recognize misalignment between strategy and operating models, cultural forces are harder to address as they are emotional rather than rational. Understanding employees' emotional connections and what they feel strongly about, both positively and negatively, provides "cultural insight," a crucial step towards effective cultural action.