Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
Peter Drucker
Have you ever tried to transform the very soul of an organization—its culture? Quite the task, right? To thoroughly transform a culture for the better, one vital tool you need to master is the Rule of Thirds Strategy.
As a student of organizational dynamics, I am fascinated by the unwritten code of the Rule of Thirds. Let’s call it the “Ro3” because that sounds cooler. The Ro3 is not some cosmic mojo or mystical law, like why bread always lands butter-side down. Instead, it’s a quirky reality of organizational psychology that you can observe yourself and put to use.
When it comes to transforming or redirecting organizations, the rule is surprisingly consistent. It generally kicks in when the population of an organization reaches around 30, but I have seen it at work with much smaller groups. Even amidst chaos, the rule holds sway. Despite its name, though, don’t expect the categories to be exactly one third each.
The Ro3
In any sizable organization, there are three primary groups: the True Believers, the Recalcitrants, and the Mushy Middlers.
1. The True Believers
These are the folks who just get it. They are loyal to the mission if not the bosses and can be relied on even in crisis. These are the people who step it up. They are your champions, your early adopters, and your go-to go-getters.
2. The Recalcitrants
What can we say about the Recalcitrants? These are the ones who you couldn’t motivate at gunpoint. They dig in their heels and barely perform the most basic aspects of their jobs. For them, your mission evokes a resounding “meh.” These are your wizards of tardiness, your maestros of truancy, and your virtuosos of bailing. They are often impervious to discipline short of termination. Are there troublemakers in your organization? It’s a good bet they reside among the Recalcitrants.
3. The Mushy Middlers
The final group is, predictably, in the middle. They toe the line well enough, but that’s pretty much it. Middlers are largely committed to sticking to the center, but they can drift if prompted. The trick is to encourage them to float upward into the ranks of the True Believers lest they find some impetus to sink downward toward the Recalcitrants. Without any external prompting, though, they will remain content to just stick to the business at hand and nothing more.
The Ro3 Strategy
A leader who understands and wields the Rule of Thirds as a strategy for change can reshape their culture and redirect their future. This rule, while pretty straight-forward, requires finesse to negotiate.
Recently I had the privilege of spending the day at a school off exit 12 on the New Jersey Turnpike in a leadership retreat with the school’s administrators. Their open-mindedness and thirst for leadership wisdom was a pleasant surprise. This school, run by mere bosses not long ago, now has budding leaders at the helm. Its future is bright so long as they can blossom.
Throughout our daylong journey they voiced their desire to reform their culture by reintroducing professionalism among the staff. As often happens, they were meeting stiff resistance from some and had subsequently become ensnared in a common trap.
“What trap,” you ask? One that makes logical and therefore strategic sense: zeroing in on reforming the resisters first—fixing the culture from the bottom up. But this is what Peter Drucker warned about when he said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The culture of the bottom-dwellers, the Recalcitrants, is to resist, and resist they will. Good luck, as they burn up all your time, energy, and other resources. In contrast, successful change strategies heed the existing culture and leverage it. The Rule of Thirds Strategy does that in three steps.
Step 1. Look toward Your Low-Hanging Stars
Begin at the top, with the True Believers. These are your allies, the ones who are most likely to stick with you through it all. They will require little convincing. They are your low-hanging fruit or—better yet—your low-hanging stars, even if there are only a few. Show them the appreciation they deserve, for you neglect them at your peril. Disregarding your best people risks pushing them downward toward the Mushy Middlers or even the Recalcitrants or, worse still, toward the door. You need them, so start with sincere gratitude and let them know their worth daily.
Step 2. Move the Middlers
Next up, the Mushy Middlers, those souls with the consistency of caramel nougat. Here is where you will devote the brunt of your efforts. Intentionality and diligence are key, for Middlers can be both squishy and slippery as they slither back toward their comfortable center. Peel them off in small numbers, one-by-one if you have to. Again, start with the most persuadable, using carrots, not sticks.
Meanwhile, don’t forget to continue recognizing the True Believers. In fact, enlist them as paragons of honor to entice the Middlers. In time, the upward momentum you produce will pull others along. Once you have converted them, be sure to welcome them as the True Believers they now are. It is an extraordinary thing for an employee to turn themself around, and some may even become staunch allies. Applaud them!
Step 3. Get to the Last and Least at Long Last and Give Them Your Least
What’s left? Oh, right, the Recalcitrants. Yay.
Fear not, because you don’t have to work real hard on this group. Keep them in check and make sure they do no harm. Otherwise, don’t worry about them. It’s unlikely you will need them as you build your new culture. Some will elect to flee, uncomfortable in the new environment. Good riddance! Some may need more persuasion to depart. Persuade them. Some, though, may start to move upward to the Mushy Middle and even beyond. Make sure they have an avenue to ascent and treat them well when they do. There is nothing like the zeal of the converted! Replace the duds who leave but be sure to hire your newbies directly into the ranks of the True Believers. That move will fortify your new healthy culture.
When I sketched the Ro3 Strategy for the school administrators, they were thrilled and relieved. They had been overwhelmed contemplating the effort required to move their worst staff, but now they knew to lavish attention first on their best. It is so much better to move a culture with good will than it is to try to move it with corrective or punitive measures. And it is easier and more effective too.
The real elegance of the Ro3 Strategy, though, is that so much of it is self-actualizing. If you are deliberate, patient, and persistent, the pace of change will increase until it becomes an irresistible force. And it may seem churlish at first but make lists. Track the Believers, the Middlers, and the Recalcitrants. Marvel as names ascend and your organization evolves. The Ro3 Strategy is your guide for positive cultural change. Trust it. Follow it. Ever upward.
What strategies for culture reform have you tried? How well did they work?
Leaders must understand organizational strategies like the Rule of Thirds, and I can help.
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Mastering the Ro3 Strategy to Better Your Organizational Culture