ABSTRACT

No challenge is entirely new. In 60,000 years of human existence, nearly every problem we face in modern business has already been seen…and solved. We just have to figure out how to apply that age-old tribal wisdom to our current circumstances.

The Corporate Tribe will take you on a journey to discover the essence of culture and the secret to successful change programs. Along the way, it will introduce you to the cultural traditions of different people across the globe and provide you with the practical tools you need to apply what you find to today’s organizations. Through thirty compelling stories, The Corporate Tribe will reveal what, deep down, you already know.

At turns unfamiliar and disruptive, illuminating and inspirational, The Corporate Tribe offers a powerful paradigm and skillset for tackling organizational and leadership challenges in the twenty-first century and beyond. It is a book for leaders, consultants and advisors who are looking for a fresh perspective and proven solutions, for those who want to build strong communities that are safe for diversity and ready for change.

Danielle Braun and Jitske Kramer are corporate anthropologists. They look at organizations as tribes, organizational charts as kinship systems, leaders as chiefs and mission documents as totem poles. Travel with them to places where spirits linger after death, magic is real and rituals are the key to maintaining order and facilitating transition. You will never look at your organization—or approach its problems—the same way again.

chapter One|10 pages

Introduction

A Journey through the Corporate Tribe

part One|2 pages

Culture Creates Order from Chaos

chapter Chapter One|12 pages

Where to Find “Organizational Culture”

People shape cultures and cultures shape people.

chapter Chapter Two|24 pages

Through the Eyes of the Anthropologist

Investigating the intangible and learning to understand.

part Two|2 pages

It Happens in the Relationships

chapter Chapter Three|19 pages

Relationships with Others in Our Own Group

How do we organize among ourselves?

chapter Chapter Four|14 pages

Relationships with Leaders and Power

Who determines what happens?

chapter Chapter Five|15 pages

Relationships with Outsiders, Customers and Competitors

Framing the other.

chapter Chapter Six|10 pages

Relationships with Time, Space and the Cosmos

When words are not enough.

chapter Chapter Seven|10 pages

Relationships with Relationships

How we develop and maintain relationships.

part Three|26 pages

Cultural Transitions—Building and Moving a Totem

chapter Chapter Eight|18 pages

Cultural Creation

Creating shared identity.

chapter Chapter Nine|12 pages

Cultural Continuity

Strengthening the good.

chapter Chapter Ten|14 pages

Cultural Reorientation

Getting back to the original purpose.

chapter Chapter Eleven|13 pages

Cultural Healing

Healing and making healthy.

chapter Chapter Twelve|12 pages

Cultural Transformation

Replacing or changing in a profound way.

chapter Chapter Fourteen|11 pages

I Went on a Journey of Change and I Took with Me…

A model for the road…

chapter |17 pages

Inspirations and Sources