Solomon Carter (solomon@allpowermissions.com) is a corporate trainer specializing in curricula development and an executive at All Power In His Hands Christian Mission in Atlanta, GA, USA.

So it would appear that the memo is out! There are countless articles proselytizing on the relationship between culture and the vitality of an organization. But the real question is, what is the best way to influence culture? There are so many different models and schools of theory on how to best influence the culture of an organization that it can become dizzying. For a neophyte, it can be very confusing. For an experienced organization with various platforms, needs, missions, and mini missions within those missions that span continents and every cultural difference imaginable (from one office or division to the next), the challenges may be even greater.

And though I’m big on creating customized solutions to solve customized problems, it doesn’t mean that we can’t have some foundational concepts to understand and gain from.

Nothing — and I mean nothing — impacts culture like training. In fact, training (or the lack thereof, which is the same thing) is the very foundation of the culture of every organization. Let me be even clearer. When you talk about the culture of an organization, you are literally talking about what’s being trained in an organization.And if it’s trained properly (or again improperly), then literally that is the culture.

Show me an organization that’s operating in longstanding excellence, and I’ll show you an organization that has a culture of excellence through training. But the skinny is, quality training platforms, as we’ve been taught to view them, aren’t just a singular or series of singular events consisting of classroom instruction. Top-tier training platforms understand that culture is a living, breathing process that is ever-changing and requires a multi-tiered approach to its implementation.