Categories
Does Culture Matter?
While reading an article recently related to the delivery of two new Air Force One planes, I was struck by the “now projected, yet uncertain” delivery status of the planes to the United States. The first of the two planes was originally scheduled for delivery in 2024. However, media outlets were reporting in early 2025 that the manufacturer, Boeing, has now pushed delivery to “as late as 2029,” with one current administration official acknowledging that the delay could “stretch years beyond 2029.” Even more striking is that by January 2025, Boeing had already exceeded the originally capped $4 billion Air Force One replacement budget by $2 billion, with potentially billions more in expenditures still to come before the project is completed.
Boeing’s Air Force One situation pales in comparison with two fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes as well as recent incidents, including a high-altitude door blow-out due to “missing bolts” and multiple whistleblower accounts of problematic safety and manufacturing processes. Combined with a huge and often derided merger with McDonnell Douglas, multiple rounds of subsequent layoffs, labor strikes, two corporate headquarters relocations, and losses of over $35 billion in the last five years, it seems to be the understatement of the decade to suggest as some have that Boeing’s “company culture has gone through a serious downturn.”
So, what happened? From this corner, it appears Boeing suffered a lack of consistent leadership at the very top of the organization—in the Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) seat as well as with the company’s Board of Directors (who hire and presumably oversee the CEO). With three CEOs in the last 10 years, it is difficult to reset course, then reset course, then reset course yet again, particularly when a company employs over 150,000 employees in multiple divisions.
In 2022’s Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, the documentary filmmaker made the case that before the 21st Century, a mere 25 years ago, “There were many decades when Boeing did extraordinary things by focusing on excellence and safety and ingenuity.” Those three virtues sound like the solid foundation of a great company culture to me. Hopefully, the current leaders of Boeing will rediscover the importance of these foundational pillars as they do the difficult work of rebuilding the company.
“Culture.” It’s at the core of every organization—from worldwide, multi-billion-dollar industrial manufacturers to $20 million dollar service organizations to non-profits. Whether employees realize it or not, their organization has a culture—great, good, bad, or indifferent.
What’s your culture?