---
title: "How Culture Change Works: 3 Lessons"
description: "How Culture Change Works: 3 Lessons"
---

[Blog | Brainzooming ](https://www.brainzooming.com/blog)

# [How Culture Change Works: 3 Lessons](https://www.brainzooming.com/blog/how-culture-change-works-3-lessons)

 Written by [Mike Brown](https://www.brainzooming.com/blog/author/mike-brown) | Jun 10, 2019 9:50:59 AM

Brainzooming participated in a new business presentation with a group of other companies. We were proposing a [change initiative](https://www.brainzooming.com/creating-change-and-change-management-four-strategy-options/11571/) for a multi-agency department within a city government. As our in-person presentation drew to a close, the review team asked about each of our experiences with comparable culture changes.

My answer, rather than detailing the specifics of a particular initiative, focused on important lessons I learned during a [significant change in organizational culture](https://www.brainzooming.com/corporate-branding-strategy-5-keys-to-successful-turnaround-branding/24225/).

What lessons did I share on how culture change works? There were three lessons.

### Culture Change works when:

#### #1. It Comes from the Top of the Organization

An organization may have a groundswell for change from within the ranks. In a business setting, though, you need senior leadership to be on board with a changing culture. That can involve:

- Supporting an overt change initiative with [words, actions, and resources](https://www.brainzooming.com/creating-strategic-impact-what-is-organizational-body-language-saying/19063/)
- Cutting off options for people to AVOID getting on board with change
- Making examples of [people who refuse to embrace the change](https://www.brainzooming.com/major-change-management-managing-ongoing-performance-gaps/13758/)

#### #2. Emotions and Facts Co-exist

While the need for the change may emerge from objective evidence, facts alone will not win the day when changing a culture. The facts MUST be intertwined with emotional appeals. Facts may get people's brains engaged, but these initiatives are as much about the heart as they are about the mind.

#### #3. It’s Ongoing, Not an Event

Even though you may have a big launch event to signal that there is a different direction for doing things, real change doesn't happen at a point in time. It's an [ongoing series of daily events](https://www.brainzooming.com/8-change-management-lessons-from-major-changes-in-the-catholic-mass/13771/) - some huge, some barely noticeable - that [disrupt the status quo](https://info.brainzooming.com/disruptingthinking), demonstrate a new way of doing things, and solidify the newness on an ongoing basis. If you think you're done with culture change, I have news for you: your work is not only not done, your culture is probably rolling back to what it was before.

*That* is my best advice on how culture change works. – *[Mike Brown](https://www.brainzooming.com/who-we-are/#MikeBrownBio)*

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