Evolving business needs and changes within the C-suite created an inflection point for the executive team at a specialty outdoor retailer: the culture needed to evolve to reinforce the company’s values and leadership behaviors while sustaining its dual identity as a retailer and cooperative.
Let’s TalkKnown for its employee-first culture, unique co-op identity, and deep commitment to environmental stewardship, the specialty retailer needed to create stronger alignment among its newly refined senior leadership team and balance retail growth with preservation of the company’s identity. However, the organization lacked a clear, compelling cultural narrative that connected both long-standing employees and newer talent to the organization’s values.
Activate a cultural transformation to align senior leaders, clarify the cultural narrative, and equip employees to embody the company’s values consistently in their daily work.
Defined the cultural narrative and values-in-action: Through one-on-one interviews and facilitated workshops with executive leadership, we assessed the organization’s current cultural state, defined the desired future culture, and articulated the path forward. Together, we co-created a clear cultural narrative and rallying cry—anchored in the organization’s co-op heritage and aligned to future growth—supported by defined values-in-action and success metrics.
Aligned executive leadership to the path forward: In partnership with functional leaders, we developed a practical activation roadmap to embed culture into key business processes, including talent acquisition, onboarding, leadership development, performance management, and employee engagement. Senior leaders aligned around shared leadership behaviors and expectations for modeling the culture.
Engaged leaders at every level to activate the cultural narrative: Collaborating with the organization’s internal change network, we created manager playbooks for both corporate and store employees, tailored presentations for leadership and all-hands meetings, and training tools to help cascade the cultural message across the organization. These tools enabled leaders at every level to connect their daily work to the broader cultural narrative.
Supported coordinated rollout of the activation plan: We equipped managers with playbooks, tools, and communication assets to reinforce the defined values-in-action in real time. Culture was operationalized—not as a campaign—but as a sustained shift embedded in how the organization hires, develops, evaluates, and leads.
