Ed McMahon Of Core International On Why Corporate Culture Matters in Business

An Interview With Vanessa Ogle

It builds organizational velocity. Unnecessary escalations, confusion about who decides what, and lack of role clarity can seriously slow down any business. When the organization is designed and implemented intentionally, these problems recede, and a “can-do” culture swiftly follows. One of our clients (a major Telco) told us one year after implementation: “things that used to take us 9 months we’re now getting done in 90 days. Think about what that means in terms of new product introductions and revenue generation”.

Every company has a corporate culture. This culture can foster innovation and a fresh exchange of ideas or it can promote selfishness and backbiting which will damage the bottom line of any business. Sensitivity to the culture of a business goes beyond mere awareness; it’s about actively adapting and responding to create the culture that you want to represent your brand. This is crucial for building successful, respectful, and inclusive working environments and for creating products and services that resonate with a diverse customer base. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Core International’s Managing Partner Ed McMahon.

Ed is an executive-level Management Consultant with a demonstrated history of client satisfaction, organizational capacity building, executive leadership advancement and general management development. He is a polished and insightful agent for change and renewal with an affinity for designing and implementing managerial systems. Ed’s consulting sensibilities are informed and augmented by years of first-hand experience with business unit and general management, providing him with real-life insights that hone his analysis of strategy, organizational structure, and corporate culture to inform his design of new organizations that instill accountability at all levels, and create positive and inspiring corporate cultures. Prior to joining Core International, Ed was the founder of Teamworx Human Capital Consulting and held executive management positions with several global consulting companies.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about Why Corporate Culture Matters in Business, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I have had the good fortune of working with a number of very talented leaders and mentors since I entered the world of management consulting in the 90s. I spent several years in global consulting firms, and I eventually got to the point where I was in executive leadership roles in consulting, and not doing the work I love, which is helping people solve difficult issues — especially issues related to corporate culture, executive team performance, and organization structure.

So, I left the big firms and started my own boutique consultancy because I wanted to focus more closely on the real engines of success for any company — how the various teams at work throughout the organization are functioning, how the company itself is organized, and how structure and strategy influence culture. I really do believe that most people show up at work wanting to make a positive and productive contribution — and if they can, they will.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

What a great question!

I think in the context of culture, teams and leadership, one of the most interesting stories for me was just a quiet moment being a living example of “the culture we want” that set the tone for an executive leadership team, galvanized them, and created hugely positive momentum that carried them forward for years.

Many years ago, I was running a strategic planning offsite with the CEO of a Canadian financial institution. At the time, online banking was a fairly recent innovation, and this team was meeting to decide how they could compete and win. On the second day of our session, the hotel experienced a complete power failure, shutting things down completely. We quickly gathered in the hotel lobby with the team and a couple of flip charts with the objective of exploring ideas about “the future of banking” and where this organization might find a source of competitive advantage. For about an hour there was quite a lively discussion about possibilities. The team was very engaged — the synergy was amazing. And then the conversation just expired — it seemed the team had simply run out of energy.

And then, from out of the dark (literally) the CEO’s voice: “What about these?” he asked. People spun around to see that he had taken out his mobile phone, lit up the screen and was holding it up for everyone to see. The team perked up, the conversation restarted in earnest, and out of that moment came several ideas that later emerged as products for the bank. Later, this CEO would go on to lead a Canadian bank started by one of the country’s largest Telcos.

What was fascinating and inspiring for me about this was the CEO’s approach, his timing, the confidence he placed in his team by asking them what they thought the future held. Almost certainly he already had a point of view on where mobile technologies and banking would intersect. But instead of telling people where they “had to go” he inspired them to create the future themselves and set the tone for the kind of culture he wanted in his organization.

It was a great example of culture in action.

You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Imaginative: Our clients have big issues, each of them complex and unique. Some time ago I was working with a healthcare client that was merging seven hospitals into one regional health authority. The assignment was to orchestrate the merger of seven HR Departments while preparing to outsource the HR function. The SVP HR had no experience with a project of this magnitude and was legitimately concerned about failure. At the time I had not managed a project of this scope either and yet, through several intensely focused discussions, we literally imagined the desired outcome. Working backwards we identified the most significant areas of risk, information we would need to make decisions, the team we would need to be successful, and blocked out a high-level approach. The result was (at the time) the largest HR outsourcing deal in Canada.

Empathetic: I’m a good listener. Often, our clients (C-level executives) really don’t have anyone to talk to. Listening empathetically is critical to fully understanding what’s going on for someone. Recently we guided one of our CEO clients through a restructuring. During the process he identified that one of his key executives was not performing at the level required and was not likely to — ever. He came to the conclusion that this individual would have to be released from his organization. “This is really hard,” he said during one discussion. “I’ve worked with this guy three times at different companies over the course of my career. I hired him here. This is not going to be easy.” “No,” I said, “it will not be easy. But our experience over many years is that people who are underperforming are almost always aware that they are underperforming. And that creates a great deal of stress and anxiety for them. Often when the time comes to depart it’s something of a relief for all of the parties involved.” You can’t take away the difficulty but by being empathetic to the human side of the equation, and offering some words that will hopefully bring a little comfort, you can be encouraging.

Articulate: I am always careful to choose less complex language. Our clients have complex issues — there’s no point in describing them in excessively complex ways. Simpler is always better in my experience. One of our clients was the Medical Office of Health for a large municipality in Canada. After one of our working sessions, she said to me: “I’ve never heard anyone talk about organizations, work, and people the way you do. You make it all so clear.” I take that as a huge compliment — it’s what I strive for.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. How do you define corporate culture in the context of your business, and why is it important for your company’s success?

Our culture is a culture of accountability (we do what we say), quality (we always do our best for our clients), professionalism (we “stick to our lane” and don’t give advice where we don’t have the expertise or where we can’t help), collaboration (we partner to co-create solutions with our clients), and trust (we rely on each other). It’s important to our success because as a boutique firm our reputation is critically important — most of our work is repeat business or referral.

Can you share an experience where corporate culture impacted a business decision or client relationship (positive or negative)?

As a boutique firm business development and excellent client relationships are vitally important. Recently I was contacted by a referral from a former client. We had a couple of meetings and eventually came up with an approach which addressed the issues that we had been told about to that point. After a presentation and some discussion, we were asked to update our approach to include several issues which we believed were management issues (and which therefore should have been addressed by the company’s leadership team).

After some discussion internally and with the prospect I decided not to bid (which was hard given COVID’s negative impact on our firm) and referred them to other consultants that might be able to help them the way they wanted to be helped.

Our culture helped shape this decision because it was clear to me that this prospect did not want a partner — they wanted a consultant to tell them what to do and who they could blame if things didn’t work out. They wanted a substitute for their ineffective management team. It’s not what we do — so the answer was easy.

What strategies do you employ to monitor and enhance corporate culture within your team or organization?

I think this may be easier for us because we are a small firm of like-minded people. We meet weekly to discuss what’s going on with our client work, the business overall and issues that need to be addressed. This keeps us fairly focused.

If issues do arise that challenge the culture, they are usually resolved by discussion — sooner rather than later. Most often these issues turn out to be misunderstandings as opposed to behaviour that is counter-cultural.

How do you handle situations where the executives may not be aware of corporate culture in mid-management?

Not really applicable as we are a boutique firm — a partnership.

Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Reasons How Corporate Culture Helps the Bottom Line of a Business?”

By our definition, culture is an outcome of the alignment between strategy and structure. If your organization structure is designed intentionally to support the execution of your strategy, and implemented in a way that ensures everyone knows what they do and what they can decide, one of the outcomes will be a healthy corporate culture.

In answering, I’m assuming we mean a healthy corporate culture. Every company has a culture — some of them are not very healthy!

1 . It results in happier more engaged employees. Our post-implementation surveys consistently show that employees are happier and more engaged once their roles have been clarified and their ability to make decisions has been clearly articulated. Both of these are necessary for a healthy corporate culture. After implementing a new structure with one of our clients, a senior manager told me: “I’m now making the decisions I need to make to be successful. Before we restructured I would have to get way too many permissions to do anything. It’s liberating!”.

2 . It reduces time spent resolving unnecessary conflict. Conflict isn’t always interpersonal. Sometimes two managers just can’t agree on how to proceed; or they are not clear on whether one of them can take a specific course of action. This often results in escalations to more senior management. As we worked with one client to restructure, the CEO clearly delegated decision authority on pricing to Business Unit leaders. “I don’t need to be involved in making these decisions”, he said. “I expect the BU leader and the head of production to work it out”. The result: happier CEO, happier executives, reduced conflict.

3 . It provides a consistent customer experience. Acquiring customers in any industry is expensive — so you want to do everything you can to keep the customers you have. Part of our definition of Corporate Culture is “the way we do things around here”. If the culture is widely shared and deeply entrenched, customers that engage with your company will find a consistent and positive customer experience. Probably the most famous example of this is the Four Seasons Hotel chain and The Four Seasons Culture of Service. In short, the culture is “never say no”.

4 . It builds organizational velocity. Unnecessary escalations, confusion about who decides what, and lack of role clarity can seriously slow down any business. When the organization is designed and implemented intentionally, these problems recede, and a “can-do” culture swiftly follows. One of our clients (a major Telco) told us one year after implementation: “things that used to take us 9 months we’re now getting done in 90 days. Think about what that means in terms of new product introductions and revenue generation”.

5 . It reduces turnover and helps with succession planning. Happy employees stay with their employer. There are countless articles that describe today’s talent market and the theme is consistent: it’s clear more than ever that retaining, nurturing and growing the talent you have is vitally important. Part of a creating a healthy corporate culture involves implementing the processes and systems that demonstrate to your employees that they have a future; that there is a career path for them to choose, and that you are interested in their development over time. By doing so you will reduce hiring costs and create greater visibility to your organization’s talent pipeline.

In what ways has focusing on Corporate Culture given your business a competitive edge?

Our culture and our reputation go hand-in-hand. Our business relies on being able to refer prospects to clients we work with: 100% referenceable work is critical to our business success and that’s where we’re at today. Also, our culture reflects itself in countless ways in our interactions with our clients. We generally work with the most senior executives of very large organizations — very astute business people. Our culture of accountability, professionalism, quality, collaboration, and trust surfaces early in our very first interaction. If that weren’t the case we wouldn’t get beyond the first meeting.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would love to inspire a movement centered on tolerance. What I’ve seen so often through my working life is team members (most often wrongly) attributing a motive to an action taken by someone else.

I’d like to see a world where everyone begins by assuming that people we don’t see eye-to-eye with are not bad, or evil, or offside. They just have a different perspective. But they probably want the same things as we do — especially if we’re on the same team or work for the same company!

How can our readers further follow you online?

Readers can follow me on LinkedIn at: Ed McMahon | LinkedIn

And Core International at: Core International LinkedIn

And if you want to check out your culture using our tools take our Culture Assessment

Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

About The Interviewer: Vanessa Ogle is a mom, entrepreneur, inventor, writer, and singer/songwriter. Vanessa’s talent in building world-class leadership teams focused on diversity, a culture of service, and innovation through inclusion allowed her to be one of the most acclaimed Latina CEO’s in the last 30 years. She collaborated with the world’s leading technology and content companies such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Broadcom to bring innovative solutions to travelers and hotels around the world. Vanessa is the lead inventor on 120+ U.S. Patents. Accolades include: FAST 100, Entrepreneur 360 Best Companies, Inc. 500 and then another six times on the Inc. 5000. Vanessa was personally honored with Inc. 100 Female Founder’s Award, Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and Enterprising Women of the Year among others. Vanessa now spends her time sharing stories to inspire and give hope through articles, speaking engagements and music. In her spare time she writes and plays music in the Amazon best-selling new band HigherHill, teaches surfing clinics, trains dogs, and cheers on her children.

Please connect with Vanessa here on linkedin and subscribe to her newsletter Unplugged as well as follow her on Substack, Instagram, Facebook, and X and of course on her website VanessaOgle.