Culture Connection: How Developing a Winning Culture Will Give Your Organization a Competitive Advantage

Great companies, focused on longterm value creation, recognize that a deeply rooted, sustainable culture is the foundation of success. It is an asset to be managed like any other. Marty Parker has long understood this, and Culture Connection offers a blueprint to create, nurture, protect, and grow this most essential asset to a level of competitive advantage. Its a leadership mustread.MICHAEL MCCAIN, president & CEO, Maple Leaf FoodsMarty Parker has captured a compelling collection of corporate culture insights and learnings in this book, making it a great tool for leaders at all levels in profi tbased, charitable and government organizations alike. Marty truly gets it that culture is the ultimate competitive advantage.DARREN ENTWISTLE, president & CEO, TELUS Corporation/p>This is perhaps the best book I have read on why a winning corporate culture is critical in todays competitive global marketplace. . . . Culture Connection is a mustread for any current or future business leader or owner, and it will become a mustread for our leadership team.DAVE MACKAY, president, Ceridian Canada Ltd.Marty Parker has developed a practical and insightful guide to establishing a company culture, enforcing it, and ensuring it endures for the long term. This has been a fundamental element of our success at Four Seasons and now companies everywhere can learn how adhering to a strong set of core values can bring tremendous rewards.ISADORE SHARP, founder and chairman, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Marty is one of Canadas leading executive recruiters and an expert in culture. . . . This is a very insightful read and the takeaway from Martys interviews with leading North American executives is outstanding.DON BABICK, director, Torstar Corporation; former president and publisher, National PostMarty Parkers book is essential for anyone who leads or aspires to lead an organization if they truly want to understand how to unleash the potential of their people.CLIVE BEDDOE, founding shareholder and chairman, WestJetAbout the Book:The business world is only now beginning to open its eyes to the fact that a powerful corporate culture can generate hardcurrency results. But Marty Parker has known this for years. Since 2003, his executive search and cultural assessment firm, Waterstone Human Capital, has focused its recruiting strategy on employee fit and on the best corporate cultures. Each year, the firms Canadas 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures program singles out companies whose cultures have led to measurable growth, increased profits, and a distinct competitive advantage.Now, Parker reveals the best practices of some of the worlds top companies to help you generate extraordinary business results by spearheading cultural change in your own organization. Culture Connection helps you define your vision and gives you invaluable guidance on how to: Set the stage for improved communication, innovation, and performance Provide significant shareholder return Measure and align your organizations efforts Recruit and retain the best people in your industryCulture Connection is filled with advice from top business leaders, including Clive Beddoe, founding shareholder and chairman, WestJet; Isadore Sharp, founder and chairman, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts; Darren Entwistle, president and CEO, TELUS Corporation; Marc Tellier, president and CEO, Yellow Pages Group; and Michael McCain, president and CEO, Maple Leaf Foods.These leaders know what theyre talking about: each represents an organization that has been a previous winner of Canadas 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures, and whose performance has outperformed their peers. In fact, the 2010 winners of Canadas 10 outpaced the S&P/TSX 60 by an average of 600 percent.Culture isnt just connected to performance; it drives performance. Todays top companies invest in their corporate cultures, and they dont pull back when times get tough. Even in the most cha