EY's "The board's role in corporate culture" outlines the inter-relatedness of the corporate culture and company strategy; identifies ways in which boards are already (whether actively or passively) involved in shaping the corporate culture (e.g., CEO selection, management succession, executive compensation); and suggests numerous indicators that the board can monitor and action steps it can take (e.g., externally-facilitated reviews) to enhance its oversight role.
Those who have experienced a corporate culture-related mishap may easily relate to the memo's "culture eats strategy for breakfast" quote and associated explanation - which serves as a good reminder of why this issue is so important:
This quotation ["culture eats strategy for breakfast"], attributed to management expert Peter Drucker, supports the theory that culture beats strategy. A good culture will defeat a bad strategy, and a bad culture will defeat a good strategy. As a result, culture emerges as an important driver of company performance and value.
The memo includes a helpful list of questions for the board to consider that may serve as a great meeting agenda launching pad for those boards that are grappling with how to affirmatively tackle this amorphous issue.