--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a change initiative is focused on…" description: "\"When a change initiative is focused on changing a company's culture directly, it can take five to ten years to accomplish its objective. Company cultur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/james-a-champy-34720_accomplish_when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-c_119564.png" --- # When a change initiative is focused on changing a… ![“When a change initiative is focused on changing a company's culture directly, it can take five to ten years to accomplish its objective. Company cultures don't change easily. My friend Peter Drucker used to argue that company cultures don't change at all.” quote by James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/james-a-champy-34720_accomplish_when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-c_119564.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/james-a-champy-34720_accomplish_when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-c_119564.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/james-a-champy-34720_accomplish_when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-c_119564.png) > “When a change initiative is focused on changing a company's culture directly, it can take five to ten years to accomplish its objective. Company cultures don't change easily. My friend Peter Drucker used to argue that company cultures don't change at all.” [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultural transformation in companies is a long‑term effort, often spanning decades, and some argue it may never fully change. **In simple terms:** Culture change takes years, maybe never. Key Takeaway Organizational culture resists rapid alteration. Themes culture change business time resistance Mood cautious realistic Type business analytical When to use this quote - merger integrations - rebranding campaigns - leadership transitions Key Concepts organizational inertia Practical Applications - set realistic timelines for cultural initiatives - measure incremental cultural shifts Questions to Reflect On - What strategies can accelerate cultural shift without superficial fixes? - How do we know when a culture has truly changed? A Different Perspective May discourage attempts at necessary change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Company culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company-culture/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Focused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focused/) [Initiative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiative/) ## Related quotes > [A change initiative can fail for multiple reasons - in fact, there are just too many things that can go wrong. The focus of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/a-change-initiative-can-fail-for-multiple-reasons-in-fact-there-are/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [“It wasn’t the trip to Cairo that had caused the shift, scientists were convinced, or the divorce or desert trek. It was that Lisa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/it-wasn-t-the-trip-to-cairo-that-had-caused-the-shift-scientists-were/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [The most forward-leaning leaders are single-minded about creating company cultures that foster a true spirit of innovation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-doughtie/the-most-forward-leaning-leaders-are-single-minded-about-creating/) [Lynne Doughtie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-doughtie/) > [Company cultures are like country cultures. Never try to change one. Try, instead, to work with what you've got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/company-cultures-are-like-country-cultures-never-try-to-change-one/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [I think that people still naturally want to be part of a team and participate in the success and achievement of a group effort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/i-think-that-people-still-naturally-want-to-be-part-of-a-team-and/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [When I was getting my education, I fell in love with the writings of Peter Drucker. He was my hero. I had a naive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/when-i-was-getting-my-education-i-fell-in-love-with-the-writings-of/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [“A well-managed plant, I soon learned, is a quiet place. A factory that is “dramatic,” a factory in which the “epic of industry” is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/a-well-managed-plant-i-soon-learned-is-a-quiet-place-a-factory-that/) [Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/) > [ “There is the risk you cannot afford to take, \[and\] there is the risk you cannot afford not to take. PETER DRUCKER” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/there-is-the-risk-you-cannot-afford-to-take-and-there-is-the-risk-you/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [“Until we manage time, we manage nothing.” – Peter F Drucker Don’t”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandan-deshmukh/until-we-manage-time-we-manage-nothing-peter-f-drucker-don-t/) CHANDAN DESHMUKH > [I agree with Peter Drucker that the culture and legal systems of the United Statesare especially favorable to shareholder interests, compared to other interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-agree-with-peter-drucker-that-the-culture-and-legal-systems-of-the/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“The knowledge worker cannot be supervised closely or in detail. He can only be helped. But he must direct himself, and he must direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-perman/the-knowledge-worker-cannot-be-supervised-closely-or-in-detail-he-can/) [Matt Perman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-perman/) > [“Peter Drucker suggested the transformation into a post-modern world happened between 1937 and 1957 (when he was writing). He described an as yet "nameless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/peter-drucker-suggested-the-transformation-into-a-post-modern-world/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) > [“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. —Peter Drucker,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-e-knapp/whenever-you-see-a-successful-business-someone-once-made-a-courageous/) Duane E. Knapp > [“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. Peter Drucker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/there-is-nothing-so-useless-as-doing-efficiently-that-which-should/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“Management is about doing things right; leadership is about doing the right things. Peter Drucker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-banfield/management-is-about-doing-things-right-leadership-is-about-doing-the/) [Richard Banfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-banfield/) ## More by James A. Champy > [Most business leaders don't consider their own causality in the creation of problems. They fail to see that their company could have avoided breakdowns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/most-business-leaders-don-t-consider-their-own-causality-in-the/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [I think that we can all learn from what smart companies are doing. My objective is to demonstrate what's possible, even during tough economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/i-think-that-we-can-all-learn-from-what-smart-companies-are-doing-my/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [People must know that their ideas will be listened to and, if they have merit, acted upon. If they do, it is possible to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/people-must-know-that-their-ideas-will-be-listened-to-and-if-they/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [Very soon, most companies will need to have a global operating model - even if you only sell locally. Even mid-sized companies will source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/very-soon-most-companies-will-need-to-have-a-global-operating-model/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [We are a great capitalist society, that works most of the time. We do need to take better care of our people and fix…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/we-are-a-great-capitalist-society-that-works-most-of-the-time-we-do/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [There is not much new in management, but there is a lot new in business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/there-is-not-much-new-in-management-but-there-is-a-lot-new-in-business/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [I think that people still naturally want to be part of a team and participate in the success and achievement of a group effort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/i-think-that-people-still-naturally-want-to-be-part-of-a-team-and/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [I think that many people have lost their sense of loyalty to their company. That's because very few companies remain loyal to their people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/i-think-that-many-people-have-lost-their-sense-of-loyalty-to-their/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [People get caught up in formulaic answers. When one doesn't work, they just go on to the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/people-get-caught-up-in-formulaic-answers-when-one-doesn-t-work-they/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [My engineering training taught me to be a systems thinker. I looked at companies as "systems" and saw work as a system of tasks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/my-engineering-training-taught-me-to-be-a-systems-thinker-i-looked-at/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [Without ambition no conquests are made, and no business created. Ambition is the root of all achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/without-ambition-no-conquests-are-made-and-no-business-created/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [A change initiative can fail for multiple reasons - in fact, there are just too many things that can go wrong. The focus of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/a-change-initiative-can-fail-for-multiple-reasons-in-fact-there-are/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) > [I used to believe that you could change the culture or behavior of a company. I still believe it's possible, but it is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/i-used-to-believe-that-you-could-change-the-culture-or-behavior-of-a/) [James A. Champy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) [Explore all 14 James A. Champy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/) ## More Accomplish quotes > [Learn to see the big picture. Often times we get tunnel vision and lose sight of the big picture and what we're really trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/learn-to-see-the-big-picture-often-times-we-get-tunnel-vision-and/) [Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/) > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [God has given believers the responsibility of spreading the Gospel to all the world, and we need to use all at our disposal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-epp/god-has-given-believers-the-responsibility-of-spreading-the-gospel-to/) [Theodore Epp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-epp/) > [ \[The Community's\] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-guerin/the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give-me-confidence-but-i-derive-my/) [Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-guerin/) > [There's things that you want to accomplish, but to do that you have to work. That's the name of the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/there-s-things-that-you-want-to-accomplish-but-to-do-that-you-have-to/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We have to think about the future and what it is we want to accomplish from this party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-bernice-johnson/we-have-to-think-about-the-future-and-what-it-is-we-want-to/) [Eddie Bernice Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-bernice-johnson/) > [Everything that I have ever hoped to accomplish, she has done and done better than anyone I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/everything-that-i-have-ever-hoped-to-accomplish-she-has-done-and-done/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [There's a lot that I want to accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-s-a-lot-that-i-want-to-accomplish/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [For what we want to accomplish in the future, we have to be able to view everything from the eyes of the customer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-katz/for-what-we-want-to-accomplish-in-the-future-we-have-to-be-able-to/) [Karen Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-katz/) > [And for me the only way to live life is to grab the bull by the horns and call up recording studios and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/and-for-me-the-only-way-to-live-life-is-to-grab-the-bull-by-the-horns/) [John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/) > [A great tennis career is something that a 15-year-old normally doesn't have. I hope my example helps other teens believe they can accomplish things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/a-great-tennis-career-is-something-that-a-15-year-old-normally-doesn/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [Somebody once told me that if you laugh at a George Bush joke, or you send an email cartoon to your friends that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ramis/somebody-once-told-me-that-if-you-laugh-at-a-george-bush-joke-or-you/) [Harold Ramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ramis/) > [One should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/one-should-not-withdraw-from-individuals-and-commit-to-the-community/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) Browse all 2,426 Accomplish quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When a change initiative is focused on changing a company's culture directly, it can take five to ten years to accomplish its objective. Company cultures don't change easily. My friend Peter Drucker used to argue that company cultures don't change at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James A. Champy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-changing-a-company-s-culture/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accomplish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-changing-a-company-s-culture/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/james-a-champy-34720_accomplish_when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-c_119564.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/james-a-champy-34720_accomplish_when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-c_119564.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d7/james-a-champy-34720_accomplish_when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-c_119564.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a change initiative is focused on changing a company's culture directly, it can take five to ten years…” — James A. Champy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James A. Champy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-champy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When a change initiative is focused...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-changing-a-company-s-culture/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-champy/when-a-change-initiative-is-focused-on-changing-a-company-s-culture/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```