A causal factor for success is the speed in which people react and work together in a company. How do you take an inherently competitive atmosphere in a company, with a pyramid structure where very few make it to the top, and create an environment in which people understand, quickly, that the only way to succeed is to unite and work together?
How do you get them to work together? Integration. What does this mean, exactly? It means creating a harmonious synergy in the company where highly functional team-work is valued - starting with small management teams, trickling down the organization and, eventually, spreading across all departments. There are many ways to integrate people in a company, a few examples being: Finding a common understanding of our purpose, as a company - asking ourselves, what are we here for? Why do we exist? What are our values?; Understanding the interdependence of roles - how does my role affect yours, and how does yours mine? How do our roles affect the functioning and progress of the company?; and, finally, Creating intimacy through spending time with one another and sharing positive aspects of our lives and challenges we are currently facing - creating a space where people can ask one another for help, be listened to, and practice empathy.
Integrating a company is hard work. It takes time and determination, but it is attainable. Clear and open communication, alignment, and consistency is key. The hotel, David Intercontinental, in Tel Aviv, recognized that they needed to make a change in order to succeed. In the video, Dr. Amir Kfir explains how their culture shift, through focusing on integration and institutionalization of different processes, led to their major success in the hotel industry.