The Advantage

Is Your Organization Healthy?

Most executives are in their comfort zone working on business fundamentals like “strategy, marketing, finance and technology.” Yet all these areas will suffer if an organization is unhealthy. Healthy businesses operate with “minimal politics and confusion,” and with “high degrees of morale and productivity, and very low turnover.”

The benefits of organizational health are hard to quantify, so leaders often don’t even try to achieve it. They focus their time and energy on business staples, even if they recognize that being healthier could do a lot for their organization. Even those who recognize the damaging effects of infighting, confusion and low morale – problems that healthy organizations can avoid – would rather focus on business staples than deal with emotions or uncomfortable interactions.

Solid strategy and industry expertise can’t counterbalance the hazards of an unhealthy corporate culture. Firms with an unhealthy culture are less able to handle problems, recover from mistakes or respond to opportunities. High-functioning, healthy companies keep improving over time because they can progress without having to overcome...