The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force that Transforms Performance

1. A Crisis in Organization Culture?

A Conference Board survey found recently that only 45% of U.S. workers were satisfied with their jobs.¹ It was the lowest level in the 23-year history of the survey. If it’s true of the American workforce as a whole, that leaves more than 85 million Americans who are not satisfied with their jobs—in short, a lot of dissatisfaction.

How could this be happening in an economy that has seen a dramatic increase in information-centered jobs that are supposedly more interesting, intellectually challenging, and higher paying than jobs they are replacing? Are these jobs outnumbered by others where the work is unvaried and uninteresting; where managers are disliked or, worse yet, distrusted; where other employees seem ...