1. The Denison Model

2. What Counts… Mission Direction..Purpose..Blueprint
Adaptability Pattern..Trends..Market
Translating the demands of the business environment into action
“Are we listening
to the marketplace?”
Mission Direction..Purpose..Blueprint
Defining a meaningful
long-term direction
for the Company
“Do we know where
we are going?”
The Denison Model answers four key questions about our organization:
Mission – Do we know where we are going?
Involvement – Are our people aligned and engaged?
Adaptability – Are we listening to the marketplace?
Consistency – Do we have the systems and processes in place to create leverage?
Each Trait (Mission, Involvement, Adaptability, Consistency) is further broken down in to 3 indexes.
For example, when we examine the MISSION trait we look at:
Vision – the degree to which employees understand and are motivated by the organization’s ultimate purpose;
Strategic Direction & Intent – the level of clarity and confidence employees have in the key strategies identified to move the organization towards the vision; and
Goals & Objectives – the short-term goals that help link what employees do on a day to day basis to the strategy and ultimately to the organization’s vision.
The CONSISTENCY trait targets:
Core Values – do employees act in an ethical manner and do their values serve as a guide for their actions and the actions of their leaders;
Agreement – the ability to confront difficult issues and work towards agreement in a way that incorporates diverse perspectives and strives for win-win solutions; and
Coordination & Integration – the degree to which employees from different parts of the organization share a common perspective and are able to work effectively across organizational boundaries.
The INVOLVEMENT trait focuses on:
Empowerment – do employees feel informed and involved in the work that they do and do they ultimately believe that they can have a positive impact on the organization;
Team Orientation – the extent to which employees believe that teamwork is encouraged and practiced; and
Capability Development – do employees think that their skills and the skills of others are improving and building the organization’s bench strength.
Our final core trait, ADAPTABILITY, measures:
Creating Change – the employee’s perceptions regarding how frequently and readily new ways of doing things are adopted;
Customer Focus – the commitment to engage customers and respond to their changing needs; and finally
Organizational Learning – employee perceptions regarding the importance of learning in the workplace and the degree to which innovation is encouraged.
Consistency Systems… Structures… Processes
Defining the values
and systems that are the
basis of a strong culture
“Does our system
create leverage?”
Involvement Commitment ... Ownership … Responsibility
Building human capability, ownership, and responsibility
“Are our people aligned
and engaged?“

3. Mission
High Performing organizations have a Mission that tells employees WHY they are doing the work they do, and how the work they do each day contributes to the WHY.
Vision is the ultimate reason you are in business – what you are ultimately trying to achieve. Strategic Direction refers to the year strategies – high priorities established to ‘operationalize’ the vision.
Goals and Objectives are the short-term, specific goals established that help every employee see how his/her work connects to the vision & the strategy.
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4. All high-performing companies do some things Consistently well.
Consistency
All high-performing companies do some things Consistently well.
Specifically, they have a clear set of Core Values that help employees and leaders make decisions and set priorities.
By engaging in dialogue and getting multiple perspectives on the table they are able to reach Agreement when difficult issues and problems arise.
Employees understand how the work that they do impacts others – and how other’s work impacts them. They do not just ‘throw things over the fence’. They make sure that work is Coordinated and Integrated to serve the organization as a whole.
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5. Involvement
High performing organizations encourage and support employee Involvement.
They clarify those areas where employees can make decisions, have input, or those areas that are beyond an employee’s scope of responsibility. This promotes ‘informed’ Empowerment.
Teamwork is encouraged so that creative ideas are captured and employees support one another in accomplishing the work that needs to get done.
Capability Development is practiced in a variety of ways, including training, coaching, and giving employees exposure to new roles and responsibilities.
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6. Adaptability
High performing organizations are Adaptive – they look for new and better ways to do their work.
They welcome new ideas and are willing to try new approaches to doing things. They see Creating Change as an important part of the way they do business.
Consumer Focus is critical. Employees recognize that they are in business to serve their customer – both internal & external. They continually look for new and improved ways to meet and exceed customer expectations.
‘Calculated’ risk taking is encouraged. Organizational Learning means we gain knowledge from successes and failures.
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7. Flexible and Stable
Flexible Adaptability + Involvement A flexible organization has the capability to change in response to the environment
Stable Mission + Consistency A stable orientation contributes to an organization’s capability to remain focused and predictable over time
You’ll also notice that you can cut the model into hemispheres.
First, Flexible and Stable. Adaptability and Involvement make up the Flexible side of the model. Organizations that are strong in these traits typically change quickly in response to their environment.
Conversely, Mission and Consistency make up the Stable side. Stable organizations are typically very focused and predictable.

8. External Focus and Internal Focus
External Focus: Adaptability + Mission The organization’s focus is on adapting and changing in response to the external environment
Internal Focus: Involvement + Consistency The organization’s focus is on the dynamics of the internal integration of systems, structures, and processes
The Model also splits by top and bottom.
Adaptability and Mission make up the External Focus. Organizations that are strong in these two traits are focused on the outside environment. They typically have a good eye for the market and are able to adapt and change to the external environment. Organizations that have a strong internal focus rate high in the Involvement and Consistency traits. Their focus is on the internal systems, processes and people of the organization.

9. Top Down Bottom Up Dynamic Tension:
High performance organizations learn how to link the purpose, direction, and goals of the organization
(top - down) to a shared sense of responsibility, ownership and commitment with all employees
(bottom - up).
Employees understand the relationship between their individual goals and the organization’s goals and are highly motivated to contribute.
The Denison model also presents a paradox.
High performance organizations must have a balance between Top-down and Bottom-up management. They need to learn how to link the purpose and goals of the organization to the shared sense of responsibility, ownership and commitment of the employees.
In these organizations, employees understand how their individual goals connect with the goals of the organization and are motivated.
Bottom Up

10. Stimulate Progress! Preserve the Core!
Dynamic Tension:
Successful organizations learn how to cope with the dual problems of external adaptation (stimulate progress) and internal integration (preserve the core).
It is not an either/or proposition - high performance organizations must be able to do both at the same time.
Adaptability and Consistency also present a paradox.
Successful organizations learn how to navigate the tension between external adaptation to the market (stimulate progress) and the internal integrations and processes (preserve the core).
This is not an either/or for high performing organizations, rather it is important to have both – high performing organizations must be able to adapt to the market and be able to consistently execute as well.
Preserve the Core!

11. Culture Links to Performance
Innovation &
Customer Satisfaction
Stable
Performance
Over Time
Profitability
ROI, ROE
Operating Performance
Quality
Employee Satisfaction
Growth
Denison’s research has found notable links between organizational culture scores and important performance measures.
High scores in the stable side of the model tend to be the best predictors of profitability, return on investment (ROI), ROE while the flexible side is a better predictor of measures such as innovation and customer satisfaction.
The external focus area tends to be a better predictor of growth while internal focus predicts things like operating performance, quality and employee satisfaction.