After considering my recent views on compost as it applies to leadership and culture I want to add another for you to ponder this weekend.
It’s extremely short and I hope you will add your thoughts to my idea.
Life is compost.
You are the composting machine.
From birth to death a myriad of learning and experiences come your way.
The end result is a rich mixture of ideas, attitudes and actions and even a bit of wisdom if the worms and bacteria are especially effective.
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Image credit: Red58bill on Wikipedia

Last Monday I said that leadership was another word for initiative and that meant it had to be spread like fertilizer to every level and person if the company wanted to thrive.
Tuesday I followed up saying that leadership fertilizer was better composted than taught.
That thinking made me realize that the best cultures are also composted.
Cultural development follows a Y-shaped path.
Initially, the raw ingredients from the top person’s MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™) form the basic building blocks of the culture.
At that point the culture moves along one of two divergent routes—one akin to the controlled manufacturing approach of synthetic fertilizer and …read more

Continuing with more thoughts on yesterday’s post Leadership Is Fertilizer.
Fertilizer is produced in a lab with scientists controlling which chemicals in what amount are used and then mass produce that particular formula in a factory.
Anyone who gardens knows that there are a multitude of brands that produce different fertilizers, some considered “general purpose,” but most with specific formulas to accomplish specific goals, including forcing growth.
Experts say compost is a better choice.
Compost is natural, produced when multiple kinds of organic matter are brought together and left to decompose with the aid of a variety of organisms. The result is an incredibly …read more

To thrive in today’s world companies need to constantly innovate; innovation requires initiative; initiative is another word for leadership.
Because initiative and leadership are synonymous, leadership needs to be pushed out of the corner office and spread throughout the organization; doing so will encourage growth, creativity and innovation.
If leadership is the fertilizer then culture is the water, without which nothing will grow, and people are the seeds from which ideas come.
By spreading leadership evenly through out your company garden and watering regularly, leaving no unfertilized or dry patches in which a seed will be stunted or die, you assure yourself a …read more