Concept
What holds a company together? What is the cohesive mortar or glue that keeps an organization from flying apart? This question lingers today.81,82 My colleague Bill Zierden, years ago, developed this concept from his experience in the nuclear submarine force and his consulting and executive practice. He argued there were four kinds of organizational glue that held an organization together: charismatic leadership, Rules and Regulations, Reward Systems, and Common Values (VABEs).
Bill’s idea was that whatever held an organization together, we could call 100 percent and then allocate that 100 percent among these four forces. Further, he would argue that the distribution of glue would have a big effect on the organization’s energy level and culture. Organizations that were held together primarily by charismatic leaders could easily turn into cults—AND when the leader died or left, would face a succession crisis. Organizations that relied heavily on rules and regulations would likely be less innovative and more vulnerable to substitutions in their industries. Organizations that relied more on reward systems would develop a mercenary culture and be susceptible to having their talent hired away by better offers. Finally, organizations that were held together by common VABEs would be resilient, high energy, and likely to be high performing.
Example
Cults like Jonestown and religions like Islam (Mohammed), Scientology (L. Ron Hubbard), and Mormonism (Joseph Smith) relied heavily on charismatic leaders. The passion, rhetoric, and stories of the leaders were so powerful that people would sell all they have and move to be near them.
Rule-oriented organizations like the military and government agencies (created by self-defining and constraining statutes) tend to be large, slow-moving, and ponderous.
Rewards-oriented businesses rely primarily on financial compensation to keep their employees at home. Wall Street firms are notorious for the magnetic draw they create by the promise of big incomes.
Non-profit organizations and religions tend to rely on common VABEs to keep people coming back.
Diagram
Challenge
1. Rate your company on the glue grid above. What are the implications of your assessment?
2. What do you think the glue mix of your organization should be? Why?
3. How strong is the glue in your company? What would it take for your company to fly apart?
81 https://hbr.org/1996/11/what-holds-the-modern-company-together
82 http://thepracticalleader.com/consistence-the-glue-that-holds-organizations-together/