The Happy Virus

Well preface this section with an unconventional source of wisdom for

business, the great Persian poet Hafiz:
The Happy Virus
I caught the happy virus last night
When I was out singing beneath the stars.
It is remarkably contagious - So kiss me.

In business there is no greater asset than an inspired culture. Such

environments create a Happy Virus that leads to optimized bottom lines and
thriving top-line growth. Happy viruses that infiltrate top-performing cultures
happen when strategy becomes manifested in the culture.
Despite recent books, articles, and decent debate over Culture Trumping
Strategy, this war of culture versus strategy is a one-sided and misguided
notion.
Business cultures that have The Happy Virus do not exist in spite of strategy.
The opposite point holds true. Vibrant business cultures are a result of having
and manifesting a strategy that resonates within the organization and in the
market. Culture does not exist without strategy.
Ponder how cultures are built. It is a three-step process of bringing an entity
into being that is as old as the human psyche: thought, word, and deed.
First a thought is formed. In business, the thought that births a venture
usually fills a market need and is also aspirational. As Steve Jobs encouraged,
such thoughts need to have passion enough to put a dent in the universe.
All businesses begin with thought. Then, do your homework.
You put your visionthe thoughtinto words. This is the strategic phase. This
strategy provides a blueprint for building your business and crafting the right
kind of culture that can birth and sustain a growing business.
The kind of culture you have is a result of how well you have manifested and
managed your strategy. The deed phase becomes the culture itself.
Because the lifecycle of business is dynamic, this three-part process
thought, word, and deedneeds to be reviewed and adapted annually.
Culture, once established, can sustain a business that has lost touch of its
core strategic thrust for a short time. Culture cannot make up for a lack of
strategy.

The companies that know that a vibrant culture is a result of a founding vision
and a smart, up-to-date strategy that becomes explicit and manifested into
the hearts and minds of its employees and the market embody The Happy
Virus. Its contagious in the best wayand its the CEOs job to ensure that
this benign and magnificent virus take root. Such thinking has worked for
luminaries such as Richard Branson, Max De Pree, Anita Roddick, and others.
If you can put thought, word, and deed into a single focus and manifest your
strategy into a palpable culture, you can be a market leader.