--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can’t mandate [cultural change]…" description: "\"You can’t mandate [cultural change], can’t engineer it. What you can do is create the conditions for transformation. You can provide incentives. You ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/lou-gerstner-21499_can-do_you-can-t-mandate-cultural-change-can-t_1951737.jpg" --- # You can’t mandate \[cultural change\], can’t engineer it… ![“You can’t mandate [cultural change], can’t engineer it. What you can do is create the conditions for transformation. You can provide incentives. You can define the marketplace realities and goals. But then you have to trust. In fact, in the end, management doesn’t change culture. Management…” quote by Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/lou-gerstner-21499_can-do_you-can-t-mandate-cultural-change-can-t_1951737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/lou-gerstner-21499_can-do_you-can-t-mandate-cultural-change-can-t_1951737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/310/lou-gerstner-21499_can-do_you-can-t-mandate-cultural-change-can-t_1951737.jpg) > “You can’t mandate \[cultural change\], can’t engineer it. What you can do is create the conditions for transformation. You can provide incentives. You can define the marketplace realities and goals. But then you have to trust. In fact, in the end, management doesn’t change culture. Management invites the workforce itself to change the culture.” [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Culture change cannot be forced; it emerges when conditions, incentives, and trust are set, allowing employees to drive transformation. **In simple terms:** Culture shifts happen through supportive conditions, not mandates. Key Takeaway Create conditions, trust employees. Themes culture leadership trust Mood reflective strategic Type insightful pragmatic When to use this quote - company restructuring - team building - policy design - employee engagement Key Concepts organizational behavior change management Questions to Reflect On - What conditions can you set to foster change? - How do you build trust for cultural shift? A Different Perspective Changing culture may be slow and meet resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Cultural change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-change/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Engineers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineers/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Incentives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incentives/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Marketplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketplace/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Workforce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workforce/) ## Related quotes > [Fixing culture is the most critical − and the most difficult − part of a corporate transformation… In the end, management doesn’t change culture.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/fixing-culture-is-the-most-critical-and-the-most-difficult-part-of-a/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [Unfortunately with certain situations, just sometimes it's just the way it is. It could be a problem with the promotion side or training or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamont-peterson/unfortunately-with-certain-situations-just-sometimes-it-s-just-the/) [Lamont Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamont-peterson/) > [If you think your management doesn't know what it's doing or that your organisation turns out low-quality software crap that embarrasses you, then leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-yourdon/if-you-think-your-management-doesn-t-know-what-it-s-doing-or-that/) Edward Yourdon > [If I'm off the teleprompter, management doesn't get to see what I'm going to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cenk-uygur/if-i-m-off-the-teleprompter-management-doesn-t-get-to-see-what-i-m/) [Cenk Uygur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cenk-uygur/) > [When you are a talented footballer you rely on your abilities to win games. You use your skills without thinking. But in management that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianfranco-zola/when-you-are-a-talented-footballer-you-rely-on-your-abilities-to-win/) [Gianfranco Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianfranco-zola/) > [Christian adults need to think about talking to our own children as a form of cross-cultural missions. Cultural change happens so quickly that teens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/christian-adults-need-to-think-about-talking-to-our-own-children-as-a/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [As long as we try to project from the relative and conditioned to the absolute and unconditioned, we shall keep the pendulum swinging between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/as-long-as-we-try-to-project-from-the-relative-and-conditioned-to-the/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [Since biological change occurs slowly and cultural changes occur in every generation, it is futile to try to explain the fleeting phenomena of culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowie/since-biological-change-occurs-slowly-and-cultural-changes-occur-in/) Robert Lowie > [“Politics is where a few people are, some of the time. Culture is where many of the people are, most of the time. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-king/politics-is-where-a-few-people-are-some-of-the-time-culture-is-where/) Andrew King > [“The author reveals a cultural change that took place when clergy were paid based on a tax on the land's value rather than what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-author-reveals-a-cultural-change-that-took-place-when-clergy-were/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Jim Grimsley's unflinching self-examination of his own boyhood racial prejudices during the era of school desegregation is one of the most compelling memoirs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinty-w-moore/jim-grimsley-s-unflinching-self-examination-of-his-own-boyhood-racial/) [Dinty W. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinty-w-moore/) > [Social and cultural change, however desirable, should not be effected by the engines of national power. Let us, through persuasion and education, seek to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/social-and-cultural-change-however-desirable-should-not-be-effected/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive in their personal, political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/all-media-work-us-over-completely-they-are-so-pervasive-in-their/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Welfare is the basic cause of the deleterious cultural changes we have witnessed in the West over the past 60 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-durkin/welfare-is-the-basic-cause-of-the-deleterious-cultural-changes-we/) Martin Durkin > [Cultural change always precedes political change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-thompson/cultural-change-always-precedes-political-change/) [Tessa Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-thompson/) ## More by Lou Gerstner > [Every now and then, a technology comes along that is so profound, so powerful, so universal, that its impact will change everything. It will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/every-now-and-then-a-technology-comes-along-that-is-so-profound-so/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [Customer complaints are the schoolbooks from which we learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/customer-complaints-are-the-schoolbooks-from-which-we-learn/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [The rewards system is a powerful driver of behavior and therefore culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/the-rewards-system-is-a-powerful-driver-of-behavior-and-therefore/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [For the first month, I listened, and I tried very hard not to draw conclusions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/for-the-first-month-i-listened-and-i-tried-very-hard-not-to-draw/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [The thing I have learned at IBM is that culture is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/the-thing-i-have-learned-at-ibm-is-that-culture-is-everything/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [IBM needed - an enormous sense of urgency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/ibm-needed-an-enormous-sense-of-urgency/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [I don't want to use the word reorganization. Reorganization to me is shuffling boxes, moving boxes around. Transformation means that you're really fundamentally changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/i-don-t-want-to-use-the-word-reorganization-reorganization-to-me-is/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [It is not about bits, bytes and protocols, but profits, losses and margins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/it-is-not-about-bits-bytes-and-protocols-but-profits-losses-and/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn't just one aspect of the game; it is the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/i-came-to-see-in-my-time-at-ibm-that-culture-isn-t-just-one-aspect-of/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [We built this company from the customer back, not from the company out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/we-built-this-company-from-the-customer-back-not-from-the-company-out/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [I just think we should look at this as a chess match," he said, "between the world's greatest chess player and Garry Kasparov.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/i-just-think-we-should-look-at-this-as-a-chess-match-he-said-between/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [If the practices and processes inside a company don't drive the execution of values, then people don't get it. The question is, do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/if-the-practices-and-processes-inside-a-company-don-t-drive-the/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [Everything starts with the customer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/everything-starts-with-the-customer/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [No institution will go through fundamental change unless it believes it is in deep trouble and needs to do something different to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/no-institution-will-go-through-fundamental-change-unless-it-believes/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) > [Technology has limitations on what it can accomplish. You do not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-gerstner/technology-has-limitations-on-what-it-can-accomplish-you-do-not/) [Lou Gerstner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) [Explore all 29 Lou Gerstner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-gerstner/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can’t mandate [cultural change], can’t engineer it. 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