High-performance, Virtuous Organizations and Organizational Storytelling

[Michael Lee Stallard]

Recently, I hosted a series of webcasts that will help individuals who want to promote virtuous organizational cultures and/or who are interested in organizational storytelling. In the first webcast, Professor Kim Cameron of the University of Michigan talks about Positive Organizational Scholarship and case for virtuous organizational cultures. In a second, Rick Garlick of Maritz Research presents compelling research that virtuous organizational cultures have a economic advantage. In a third webcast, John Timmerman, Corporate VP of Operations at Ritz-Carlton, talks about the Ritz-Carlton's culture and its practice called the "Daily Line Up" that promotes virtues. In the last webcast, organizational storytelling expert Steve Denning talks about how to tell stories that motivate change, including change in values. I hope you will check out some or all of these webcasts and share your ideas and opinions here about how to promote the high-performance, virtuous organizational cultures we need.

[Terrence Seamon]

Michael,
I love the phrase "virtuous organizations." Now I'm hooked. Tell me more.
Terry

[Michael Lee Stallard]

Hi Terry,

Virtuous organizations are those organizations that embrace and behave in ways that are consistent with values that most people would recognize as big intrinsically good. I like to use the 24 character strengths identified by the positive psychology movement. In the webcasts I hosted with Prof. Kim Cameron of U of Mich. and Rick Garlick of Maritz Research they both present compelling data that shows virtuous organizations outperforming organizations that aren't virtuous. Another way to think of it is that virtuous organizations value performance and excellence but only if it is consistent with values such has obeying the law, respecting the environment and community, treating employees fairly, etc. Organizations that are not virtuous care only about their short term benefit (like a psychopath or sociopath). As such, virtuous organizations operate on a higher, more advanced moral realm.

I hope this helps. Check out the webcast. Some great research and insights in them.

All the best to you,

Michael