Culture as a success factor.

Yes, Andy, you are absolutely right - my name starts with an I, not a L. But I have faced it several times, and now I am not correcting each time, when it happens.

Thank you for your answer and useful links as well. Really helpful!

So, here's a quick cultural observation. Ieav, I'm pretty sure your name starts with an I, not an L, is that correct? Since that's not a name we see everyday in some countries, it's easy to replace the I with an L.

Whether or not I have this correct, it brings up an interesting tie to the original question. Even seemingly little things like how we spell or say names can make the difference between team members or stakeholders feeling respected and listened to or not. I had a client who specifically called this out last year. Though Ieva may not take this personally, my client was clear that the proper pronunciation of her name meant a lot to her.

I can see why it could be difficult to know whether it's an L or an I. I've noticed a lot of people don't bother capitalizing the first letter of their own names anymore.

I love your question, Ieva. Culture can mean different things so here are a couple quick thoughts:

* Organizational culture influences project success, probably more than we realize. The PMBOK Guide acknowledges that Enterprise Environmental Factors are inputs to many of the processes, which is another way of saying that the culture/environment of the organization shades nearly every aspect of projects. If the purpose of a project is to instill some change to the existing corporate culture, there could be one or more success criteria related to culture. Regardless, understanding the impact of an organization's culture is critical. Dr. Ed Schein is the guy who coined the term "corporate culture". To hear him talk about this in his own words, check out: http://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/25

* Culture in terms of people's individual background has enormous influence on a team's ability to deliver successfully. This includes considering the preferences and tendencies of team members, stakeholders we involve during the project, and those who have to live with the results of what we deliver. Tom Verghese is a great voice on this topic. To hear him discuss it in his own words, see http://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/146

I would love to hear your opinion on the topic as well, Ieva!

Warm regards from Chicago,

Andy