Longtime exclusive speaking partners JP Pawliw-Fry and Bill Benjamin sat down for a conversation regarding the growing importance of culture in the workplace, and have come away with some crucial insights. Chief among them is that a business should never put culture on the back burner; in fact, it should be front of mind in anything a company does, and irregardless of what pressures the leadership team may currently be dealing with.

Bill and JP note that based on forecasts, the labor market is heading towards a decade-long mega trend in which companies will fight tooth and nail for talent. They argue that culture will be the single most important factor in hiring and retention in the coming war for talent, and that any organizations that hope to stay afloat must set their priorities straight ASAP and work to create a solid work culture.

In the brief but deeply informative video, Bill and JP share one of the vital tools of their trade, a culture map used to identify a businesses cultural strengths and shortcomings.

A “Last 8% Culture” refers to a high-performing culture arrived at through a specific methodology, one that is characterized not by values on a wall, but how leaders handle stressful moments and don’t shy away from addressing pain points in the workplace. Bill and JP’s organization, IHHP, specializes in guiding executives through the process of creating resilient, communicative cultures.

All business fall within of the four categories detailed above, and some even within several; as they point out, many organizations don’t have a unified culture across different departments. In many cases, culture exists within teams, and an organization may be home to several different unique cultures that exist within different areas of the culture map, often thanks to differing leadership styles among managers.

While uniqueness is often an asset, it’s critical for high-performing organizations to land as a whole and departmentally in the upper right quadrant of the aforementioned chart.  Cross-organizational cohesion is only  made possible through dedicated, intentional leadership, so those seeking a competitive advantage in the coming talent wars will need to focus their efforts on fostering emotionally mature, innovative leaders. Bill and JP’s IHHP is an invaluable resource that has been helping leaders since 1996, driving growth and retaining top talent at organizations around the globe.